Confirmed: Canada geese hit flight 1549

The NTSB today confirmed through DNA analysis that it was Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) that were ingested into the turbofan engines of US Airways flight 1549 before it ditched into the Hudson River on January 15.

An adult Canada Goose typically weighs from 5.8 to 10.7 pounds, but some may weigh more, the NTSB said. The bird ingestion standard in effect when the CFM56-5B/P turbofan engines were certified in 1996 required that the engines must withstand the ingestion of a four-pound bird without catestrophic consequences. The engines are a 50/50 joint venture between Snecma of France and General Electric of the U.S.

Here are a couple of videos of bird strikes. THIS ONE is a 757 that hits a bird.

THIS ONE is an F-16 (click on the photo). You can see the bird shortly after takeoff, then in the cockpit video the pilot attempts to turn back to the runway, then you hear "EJECT, EJECT, EJECT" as the plane heads toward the ground.