closed , saying publication of the details might discourage the industry from reporting information . After it was made public , an airline industry organization was quick to say the data could wrongly lead some people to believe flying is unsafe . `` While bird strikes have attracted a lot of attention , they are , of course , rare events . The vast majority of cases result in little or no aircraft damage , '' said the Air Transport Association of America . A top pilots union -- the Air Line Pilots Association -- also had argued to keep the database closed . But the National Transportation Safety Board recommended opening up the data to the public . It also says reporting wildlife strikes should be mandatory . `` If you strike a bird you really do n't have to report this to the FAA , which means we 're really not getting the full picture , '' said Mark Rosenker , acting chairman of the safety board . The database includes information on more than 2,000 airports and 500 airlines and aircraft companies . When possible , it identifies the types of wildlife involved , chronicling the misadventures
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Capt. Chesley `` Sully '' Sullenberger 's run-in with a flock of Canada geese may be the most famous man-versus-nature story in recent months . But a federal database opened to the public Friday reveals just how commonplace airplanes ' encounters with wildlife are . A feather found inside one of the engines of the plane that ditched in the Hudson River . At New York 's LaGuardia Airport , where Sullenberger 's US Airways flight originated , planes hit birds nearly once a week on average , according to the records . But the number has grown from 16 hits in 1990 to 86 in 2008 , according to the database . Nationwide , there were 98,328 reports of aircraft striking birds or other wildlife since January of 1990 , although the actual numbers probably are far higher . The Federal Aviation Administration said only 20 percent of incidents are reported under the voluntary system of data collection . The database shows strikes resulted in `` substantial damage '' to aircraft on about 3,000 occasions . Eleven people died in incidents relating to bird strikes . The FAA initially fought to keep its database