Hudson River escape prompts Chiltern bird-strike debate

And now determined Mrs Fletcher is keen to force the matter back onto the agenda as a matter of urgency because she claims the possibility of birstrike could cost lives in the future.
She said: "The public voiced their concern at village meetings over the safety of south west departure flight paths from Luton Airport over the Chilterns.
"These concerns were spoken about at a Bucks County Council meeting last summer by Councillor Martin Tett. However we have always been reassured by NATS that safety is not an issue in the design of the flight paths.
"In the light of the recent near catastrophic bird strike at 3,200 feet over New York safety does seem to be a concern in NATS' plans to fly airliners just 2,300 to 3,300 feet above ground level for over half the length of the Chilterns.
Mrs Fletcher pointed out that it was imperative that planes should fly as high over the Chilterns as possible, because she argued that bird strike is a real possibility in the range up to 2,500 feet.
The Chinnor-based Chilterns Conservation Board has urged the general public to write letters about the flightpaths controversy.
Aircraft from Luton fly over the area when the wind is in the east, which happens approximately a third of the time.
At the moment they fly at between 4,000 and 5,000 feet but this is set to change with the possibility that, ultimately, the new flight paths will be pegged at much lower levels.