Birds Brought Down Sully's Jet

It was the birds all along: Federal investigators have identified bird remains in both engines of the US Airways jet that splashed down in the Hudson River last month. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger had reported hitting birds—witnesses said they saw a flock of Canada geese flying in formation—shortly after takeoff from New York City’s La Guardia Airport on Jan. 15. Today they got confirmation: National Transportation Safety Board officials said birds caused both engines on the Airbus A320 to fail. The NTSB has sent the remains on to the Smithsonian for identification of the bird species.