Hero Pilot and US Airways May Be Charged for Federal Violations
(Washington, DC) Chesley B. Sullenberger and US Airways
violated Federal migratory bird regulations by
hunting geese with an A320 Airbus jetliner, claim anonymous
government sources. Mr. Sullenberber, the pilot of flight 1549,
Air Force veteran and avid hunter, tried
combining both of his interests by bagging a brace of geese
over the wetlands near New York's LaGuardia airport after
takeoff, on his way to Charlotte, North Carolina.
The imported $77 million A320 airliner is not certified for either
waterfowl or upland bird hunting, so it was not surprising that the
aircraft malfunctioned, forcing Captain Sullenberger to ditch the plane
in the Hudson River.
The crew and 150 passengers were chilled and shaken but unhurt. Most
were simply grateful to avoid spending the weekend in Charlotte.
National Transportation Safety Board inspectors, rushed to
the scene, reportedly found no Duck Stamps on the downed aircraft's
fuselage. Captain Sullenberger has not been charged but is being held
incommunicado at an undisclosed location. PETA is urging the government
to prosecute the pilot for double honkercide and poaching, and the
animal rights group is expected to file a civil suit on behalf of the flock.
The two victims were undocumented aliens, according to sources close to
the investigation, Canada geese who had over-stayed their visas. Their
goose gang scandalized their quiet Queens community by squatting in
local cemeteries and golf courses, parking on the grass, cooking
strange-smelling food and throwing wild parties late into the night.
Neighbors say police dogs were called out on several occasions. Such
incidents have triggered a wave of anti-Canada goose sentiment, but at
this time revenge or hate crime motives are not suspected in the US
Airways bird bashings.
Forensic examination of the avian corpses continues, and technicians are
analyzing the two cadavers under heat with chestnuts, prunes, and
Armagnac. NTSB inspectors have contributed a supply of testing fluid, a
2005 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling from Alsace.
Note:The aircraft took off from La Guardia Airport before hitting the
birds. La Guardia is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey. The Port Authority's logo is a bird.