Concerns about bird strikes and NYC airports - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Concerns about bird strikes and NYC airports

Birds and jets don't mix. Tuesday night a JetBlue flight slammed into two geese after taking off from Westchester County Airport. The plane landed safely. The 54 passengers caught another flight to West Palm Beach, Florida.

Last week, a Delta flight had a bird strike after leaving Kennedy Airport.

And back in 2009, the so-called Miracle on the Hudson happened when Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenburger had to ditch his US Airways flight in the Hudson River after taking off from LaGuardia and hitting a flock of geese.

Most major airports have what are called wildlife mitigation measures to scare off birds.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation to make it easier for federal agencies to work together on mitigation efforts. But that isn't going to stop nature from taking its course.

Some say he North Shore Marine Transfer Station is going to increase the hazard of bird strikes. It is a city garbage facility being built across Flushing Bay from LaGuardia.

Randy Mastro, a former New York City deputy mayor, represents a group opposed to the station. He says that when the facility is built, several thousand tons of garbage will be loaded on to barges and shipped out everyday. He says this will attract plenty of birds.

The FAA declined to comment for our story, but has given the city its approval on the waste facility.

The city, meanwhile, says the garbage will be brought into the enclosed facility, shipped out in sealed containers and is located outside of the airports "danger zone."