DFW Airport to Test Bird Radar

A handful of U.S. airports will soon begin testing experimental radar systems designed to track flocks of birds.

Aviation officials hope the systems might help pilots avoid the type of collision believed to have crippled a US Airways jet over New York City.

Flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River on Jan. 15 after colliding with birds 90 seconds after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which took part in a previous round of testing, will see a more permanent installation within three months.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which has been evaluating bird radar since mid-2007, deployed its third detector on Friday.

Chicago's O'Hare is slated to get one of the systems within six weeks.

The new technology can monitor birds as far as six miles away from an airfield.

Copyright The Associated Press
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