Investigators Find Signs Birdstrike May Have Caused Crash of Flight 587

Wall Street Journal ^ | November 13, 2001 | SCOTT MCCARTNEY

[Axion]

Investigators examining one of the separated engines from American Airlines Flight 587 found foreign debris inside, indicating that the engine may have ingested a flock of birds and then caught on fire.

The engine burned internally, people close to the investigation said. But its parts appeared intact, except for the damage from what is known in aviation as ``foreign object debris,'' or ``FOD.'' That would suggest that the engine didn't suffer a catastrophic failure from some mechanical breakdown, but from sucking in birds, these people said.

[IW]

Yeah, and I just heard FBI retired SAC James Kalstrom, announce that TWA Flight 800 was now brought down by two pelicans and a seagull.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Birds don't shear off tail sections, but what about rattling, jumbo-jet engines?

[anymouse]

Must be a bunch of suicide Talaban turkeys or Al-Queda albatrosses bent on taking out the infidel humans. /sarcasm

[eno_]

It would explain why both engines were not attached when it hit the ground. So would debris on the runway being ingested into the engines. But so would sabotage. Engines do explode, but they don't take off wings, vertical stabilizers, etc. The cowlings are designed to minimize damage.

I was on a plane that ingested a bird. No damage to the engine, and it was a smaller (BAE) commuter jet. What was wierd is that the cabin filled with a smell like chicken fried in motor oil. I guess the cabin pressurization pumps run off the engines and the intakes are close enough to pick up that smell.

[mewzilla]

I know!!! It was Rhodan!!!

[WestPoint90]

They are saying alot, by not saying much. What a joke. I don't know if this was terrorism or not, but by the way they are acting and what they are not saying and how they are not confident or definite, I really think they are scared poopless to say what really happened.

[Trust but Verify]

Yes, the tail stabilizer was recovered from the bay, but there was other wrecakge in the bay, as well. I heard parts of a wing. Perhaps the tail was sheared off by wing debris or by stresses on the airframe. We'll know soon.

[Thinkin' Gal]

What a bunch of turkeys!!

Hmmm, tough choice...

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Must be a bunch of suicide Talaban turkeys or Al-Queda albatrosses bent on taking out the infidel humans. /sarcasm

We must be wary of all swarthy-colored birds with long beards, wearing turbans.

[anniegetyourgun]

Well, I read your post with interest....even if no one else is listening.

[Chad Fairbanks]

--- 'A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS'???

Iran...err... I mean I ran... so far away...

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

[Biblebelter]

I am weighing the credibility of this report with the report by AP yesterday quoting an unnamed Whitehouse source saying that there was an explosion on board. Right now if the choice is birds or bombs, I'm leaning towards bombs.

[gopgirl]

prefer conspiracy!

It is the government which brings people to believe in a conspiracy... they are not always honest with us.. tell us what they think we should hear.. Of course if they all spoke to the american public like Mayor Juliani does, than we would not come to these theories.

[Equality 7-2521]

Yesterday, right after hearing about the crash I told people at the office that if I had to make a guess I would say this was probably a birdstrike. My guess was based primarily on the eyewitness accounts that a wing or engine had exploded. There aren't many things that'll make a wing explode, but FOD will destroy an engine pretty quickly.

Using just a little common sense (because that's all I have to spare :) ), I assumed that there couldn't have been FOD in an engine when it was on the ground or it would never have been able to take off which means that it would have had to intake something in the air. Since it was right after takeoff, the plane was still at a low altitude where birds are common and since Rockaway is coastal, there is even a greater concentration of birds.

My experience with birdstrikes is limited to military aircraft where the pilot can eject, but in a majority of birdstrikes the plane is destroyed.

[jpl]

I wonder if the Sierra Club will sue American Airlines for violating the Endangered Species Act or something. "We clearly need to close down Kennedy Airport, as it is unacceptably close to a vital wetland bird sanctuary."

[LSJohn]

Do I have this down yet?

Yeah, I'd say you do.

What would you say is the qualitative difference between people who consistently express skepticism about what government officials say and those who consistently accept official statements at face value (or worse, consitently criticize those who express skepticism)?