alarkyokie

"The government agency argued that some carriers and airports would stop reporting the incidents for fear the public would misinterpret the data and hold it against them."
source: News from The Associated Press
Mar 27, 1:58 PM EDT

El Scorcho

How long until crashes are confidential as well...?

UpThere

I somewhat agree with the FAA's position. Everyone doesn't need to know about the thousands of harmless birdstrikes that happen every year. It would just get the public in a frenzy over nothing. They would want the government to do this and the airlines to do that to prevent more birdstrikes. Technology and money can't always beat mother nature.

Groundhog

Except for the fact that it is pilots and mechanics that make the overwhelming number of bird strike reports. At that point, it would get recorded in the maintenance log. In addition to that, the pilots would probably be filing an FSAP/ASAP/NASA form to high-light the safety issue. Now it would be very easy for the FAA to access the information. Is the FAA saying that their POIs don't have the access they need to review the airlines' mx logs, or that the FAA is unable to require airlines to pass birdstrike info on to a national database? I doubt it.
The FAA's assertion that air carriers and airports would stop reporting incidents is disingenuous at best.
Why would I, as a pilot, want this information to be public. Because I don't trust the FAA to oversee my safety. Unfortunately, the FAA has always been recognized as an agency with a "tombstone" mentality. If a change in regulation will cost the airlines too much money, the action would most likely be deferred. I'll use the NTSB's "Most Wanted" as an example; including fatigue mitigation and runway and taxiway incursion mitigation. All of which the FAA has been dragging its feet on.
If an airport is recognized as an area with an increased number of birdstrikes compared to the norm, why would I want the FAA to hide that information? I would much prefer public access to the information so that my Safety reps can evaluate the potential hazards at particular airports. As for the public misinterpreting the information; so what. Any government agency could make the same argument about their particular data set. When does it stop?

Hog