San Jose Airport allowed to shoot birds

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The San Jose City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow airport staff to shoot blank and live ammunition at birds that pose a hazard to aircraft.

The council's vote changes a city ordinance that allowed only police to discharge firearms at the airport.

Since 2009, there have been 180 reported bird strikes at San Jose International.

Birds can cause serious damage when they collide with jets, particularly if they get sucked into the engine.

Of course, the most dramatic example of this happened in January of 2009, when pilot Sully Sullenberger of Danville landed a bird-stricken U.S. Airways jet in the Hudson River.

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