Airports Testing Radar That Could Spot Birds

NEW YORK -- Federal aviation officials say a handful of U.S. airports will soon begin testing experimental radar systems designed to track flocks of birds.

Aviation officials hope the systems might help pilots avoid the type of collision believed to have crippled a US Airways jet over the Bronx.

Flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River after colliding with a flock 90 seconds after takeoff at LaGuardia Airport.

The new technology can monitor birds as far as six miles away from an airfield. It's being tested at airports in Seattle, Chicago, and Dallas.

Experts and FAA officials say they don't yet know if the systems will be reliable enough to serve as an anti-collision system.

But they might help airport managers see when big flocks are moving toward a flight path.