Mo. airport officials say precautions are in place to protect planes from wildlife

ST. LOUIS -- Airport officials in Missouri say precautions are in place to protect planes from birds -- and deer, coyotes, even mice.

A US Airways jet made an emergency landing Thursday on the Hudson River in New York -- after the jetliner struck a flock of birds minutes earlier during takeoff at LaGuardia Airport. Miraculously, everyone on board survived.

The incident has raised new concerns about bird strikes.

Both Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis and Kansas City International Airport work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep birds away. But birds aren't the only concern.

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea said Friday that a fence surrounding the airport aims to keep out deer and other four-legged animals. And the barrier goes underground to keep out burrowing creatures, including mice.

Workers do daily inspections to make sure there is no wildlife on the airport grounds.

"When it comes to birds, they'll take measures to try and scare them off," Lea said.

In Kansas City, Canada geese are a big concern on the 10,000-acre site 25 miles north of downtown. Spokesman Joe McBride said workers harass the geese to keep them away. If that doesn't work, USDA marksmen shoot them.

"We have zero tolerance of Canada geese," McBride said. "KCI Airport is in a flyway. The geese typically fly at 4,000 feet, but if they see a lake and want to take a dip, staff is quick to harass them."

The harassment is done with everything from pyrotechnics to cracker shells, whistlers, horns and propane cannons.

"We scare them and they relocate," McBride said. "If not, they are removed."

Officials on both sides of the state say the airports and USDA have an intensive habitat management program that reduces food, water and shelter for all types of wildlife. Still, there's no way to avoid bird strikes entirely.

"Sure, there have been reported bird strikes in the past, but from what I understand, they are primarily off airfield, usually six to nine miles out," Lea said.

McBride recalled a few years ago when an American Airlines jet had engine failure after hitting a Canada goose.

"Even if we find a dead bird on the runway, we investigate it," he said. "Those birds are recovered and sent to the Smithsonian Institution for identification."