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Subject: : Sparrow AA Blames Glass
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>
> Sparrow Aviation Administration Blames Collision On Failure To Detect Pane
> Of Glass
> Mysterious Phenomenon Kills Millions Each Year
>
> July 25, 2006 | Issue 42.30
>
> PIERRE, SD-Sparrow Aviation Administration officials are calling the 
> Monday
> collision of an westbound sparrow with the window of a Mitchell, SD home a
> clear case of "controlled flight into glass," after the bird failed to
> detect a transparent windowpane directly in his flight path.
> Enlarge ImageSparrow Aviation R
>
> SAA officials describe the crash at a press conference.
>
> Howard R. Trojanowski, a Pierre-bound, 2-year-old field sparrow who had
> been licensed to fly since two weeks after he was hatched and had logged
> over 60,000 flying hours, departed from a ledge near Sioux Falls Regional
> Airport at 11:04 a.m. CST. Trojanowski never reached his intended tree
> branch, instead striking a tempered-glass picture window 2.5 miles
> northwest of Mitchell 74 minutes after takeoff at an estimated speed of 39
> mph.
>
> There were no survivors.
>
> SAA Commissioner Vincent Stivolo said the crash was likely due to glass, a
> "common, yet not fully understood phenomenon" in which an area normally
> blocked by such barriers as curtains, blinds, or shutters suddenly appears
> to be an open passage to an indoor facility or an unobstructed extension 
> of
> the outdoor environment.
>
> Conclusive explanations have historically eluded sparrow-crash
> investigators, some of whom have themselves apparently fallen victim to 
> the
> phenomenon. Three investigators dispatched to the Mitchell site failed to
> show up and have since been reported missing.
>
> "Flight records indicate that Mr. Trojanowski unexpectedly diverted his
> route above the corner of St. Ray Street and Longfellow Drive, and began a
> slow descent when he noticed a colorful hanging potted plant about 15 feet
> below SAA-regulated minimum flying altitude," said Stivolo, a sparrow. "It
> is at this point that we believe he made the fatal decision to make an
> unscheduled landing on the plant."
> Enlarge ImageSparrow Jump Map R
>
> A chart of Trojanowski's flight path.
>
> "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Trojanowski's wife and four eggs,"
> Stivolo added.
>
> The SAA has officially ruled out sparrow error, finding no evidence that
> Trojanowski tried to swerve out of the way. Additionally, his Glass
> Proximity Warning System failed to activate until 0.001 seconds after he
> came into contact with the glass.
>
> An autopsy performed late Monday evening suggests that Trojanowski's crown
> struck the impenetrable transparent terrain first, followed by the left
> wing, which snapped in half on impact.
>
> According to sparrow coroner Stephanie Barlow, an inspection of the
> scattered wreckage at the crash site revealed no prior damage to the 
> wings,
> tail, or any other part of Trojanowski.
>
> "This bird was in good, airworthy condition before takeoff for this 
> routine
> flight-one that he had made literally thousands of times before," Barlow
> said. "But unfortunately, this happens all too often, even with the most
> experienced fliers."
> Sparrow Jump Headshot R
>
> "Should birds stop flying? No. But we need to raise awareness of this
> invisible killer."
>
> Sen. Fred Jarvis (R-SD)
>
> Since the advent of the clear glass window in the 16th century, untold
> billions of birds have been lost or severely injured in similar incidents.
> In the early 1940s, thousands of brave bluebirds were sent on risky solo
> missions to break the glass barrier, resulting in the largest full-scale
> loss of bird life in over 50 years.
>
> The worst individual crash, however, came in 1896, when a flock of
> migrating birds collided with the bay window of an East Texas mansion,
> killing all 167 passenger pigeons.
>
> In a ceremony scheduled for Friday, a red and green plastic seed dispenser
> hanging on a tree at the crash site will be renamed "The Howard R.
> Trojanowski Memorial Feeder."
>
> As news of the tragedy spread, the SAA reported no drop-off in sparrow
> flights since the fatal crash.
>
> "Of course it's scary, but I'm not going to stop flying because of it,"
> sparrow Darryl Beardsley said, echoing the apparent sentiment of millions
> of other sparrows worldwide. "I guess it's just my nature."
>