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Plane loses Engine; Downed Starlings Lose Nesting Area

What: Northwest Airlines Flight #5808 leaving Little Rock National Airport
Where: Little Rock National Airport
When: Tue September 23, 2008 –
Why: En route, the plane struck and killed 139 Starlings. The sheer quantity of their bodies closed a runway for 40 minutes. One of the birds flew into an engine, which is something that can easily down a plane. After striking the flock of birds, the flight returned to the airport on one engine.

The solution to the problem of birds is to remove a stand of trees at the base of the runway, and also in parking lots.

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