http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/...t-vulture-at-35000-feet/109062/1?csp=34travel
British air traffic control: Beware of giant vulture at 35,000 feet
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By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
Commercial airline pilots flying over Scotland and Britain have been told to be on the watch for a vulture with a 10-foot wingspan that can fly at heights exceeding 30,000 feet.
Reuters says the bird -- a 7-year-old Ruppell's Vulture -- escaped and "has not been seen since she caught a warm thermal during a show at the World of Wings center in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on Tuesday."
That prompted Britain's air traffic control group to issue the warning. "We made pilots aware of the possibility of seeing this bird as it has a three-meter wingspan and can fly at altitudes used by commercial aircraft," a British air traffic control spokesman says to the Telegraph of London.
The Telegraph adds that "in 1974, a collision was recorded between one of the creatures and an aircraft at a height of 37,000ft."
The Scotsman newspaper says the bird -- named Gandalf -- "has been the star attraction at World of Wings since 2006, when she was brought from Africa to be part of a breeding program."
And, while Britain has warned pilots in its airspace about the bird, it sounds as though an encounter with Gandalf could be equally dicey for folks the ground. Officials have warned anyone who might spot the bird to call authorities -- and to keep their distance.
"She has no fear of humans and she could give someone a very severe bite -- her beak is designed to tear flesh apart," David Ritchie, director of the attraction that includes Gandalf, tells the Telegraph.
Alan Galloway, director at World of Wings, adds to Reuters that Gandalf is "clever and quite charming, but temperamental and not everybody's cup of tea."
Posted Aug 20 2010 3:55PM
British air traffic control: Beware of giant vulture at 35,000 feet
Comments
By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
Commercial airline pilots flying over Scotland and Britain have been told to be on the watch for a vulture with a 10-foot wingspan that can fly at heights exceeding 30,000 feet.
Reuters says the bird -- a 7-year-old Ruppell's Vulture -- escaped and "has not been seen since she caught a warm thermal during a show at the World of Wings center in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on Tuesday."
That prompted Britain's air traffic control group to issue the warning. "We made pilots aware of the possibility of seeing this bird as it has a three-meter wingspan and can fly at altitudes used by commercial aircraft," a British air traffic control spokesman says to the Telegraph of London.
The Telegraph adds that "in 1974, a collision was recorded between one of the creatures and an aircraft at a height of 37,000ft."
The Scotsman newspaper says the bird -- named Gandalf -- "has been the star attraction at World of Wings since 2006, when she was brought from Africa to be part of a breeding program."
And, while Britain has warned pilots in its airspace about the bird, it sounds as though an encounter with Gandalf could be equally dicey for folks the ground. Officials have warned anyone who might spot the bird to call authorities -- and to keep their distance.
"She has no fear of humans and she could give someone a very severe bite -- her beak is designed to tear flesh apart," David Ritchie, director of the attraction that includes Gandalf, tells the Telegraph.
Alan Galloway, director at World of Wings, adds to Reuters that Gandalf is "clever and quite charming, but temperamental and not everybody's cup of tea."
Posted Aug 20 2010 3:55PM
Lo squarcio sul muso del boeing dopo l'impatto in volo con un volatile (le analisi dei resti potranno dire se si è trattato di un'oca o di un' anitra)
