The safe emergency water landing by a US Airways jetliner in the Hudson River yesterday was a rarity, but the bird strikes that caused the pilot to ditch the plane are common, according to data provided by the Insurance Information Institute.
Indeed, not only are thousands of aircraft hit by birds and bats, but jets also are fairly frequently incapacitated by mammals and even reptiles, noted the Institute, citing Federal Aviation Administration reports.
The annual cost of wildlife strikes to the U.S. civil aviation industry is estimated to be in excess of 593,000 hours of aircraft downtime and $628 million in monetary losses--$473 million per year in direct costs and $155 million per year in associated costs, the Institute noted.
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