Problem: The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that both engines of the US Airways flight that ditched last month into the Hudson River contained bird remains. The feather found inside one of the engines of the plane that crashed into the Hudson River. The engines from US Airways Flight 1549 were sent to the manufacturer in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the NTSB directed the analysis, it said in a news release. The plane's flight data recorder "revealed no anomalies or malfunctions in either engine up to the point where the captain reported a bird strike, after which there was an uncommanded loss of thrust in both engines," the NTSB said. The NTSB also said that an "engine surge event" in the right engine on January 13, two days before the accident, was caused by a faulty temperature sensor, which had been replaced. Investigators said last month they found a single feather and evidence of "soft-body impact damage" on the aircraft. The find reinforces the pilot's report that the plane was brought down by a flock of birds. Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, 58, told investigators his aircraft struck birds, disabling both engines, about 90 seconds after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York. The feather, found on a flap track on the wing, was also sent to identification experts at the Smithsonian Institution last month. The pilot ditched the Airbus A320 in the Hudson River and passengers tried to flee the aircraft almost immediately after it settled in the water and began to float along the river current. All 155 crew members and passengers on the plane survived the incident, which New York Gov. David Paterson dubbed a "miracle on the Hudson."

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Answer: Engines sent to manufacturer in Ohio after crash. Last month single feather, evidence of "soft-body impact damage" found on aircraft. Pilot ditched plane in Hudson after he said aircraft hit flock of birds. All 155 crew and passengers survived what was called "miracle on the Hudson"

By. Aaron Sharp. PUBLISHED:. 08:08 EST, 4 December 2013. |. UPDATED:. 13:06 EST, 4 December 2013. The defense expert who inspired Kelly McGillis's character 'Charlie Blackwood' in the iconic eighties film Top Gun, has become the highest-ever ranking woman at the Pentagon. President Barack Obama promoted Christine Fox to the post of acting deputy defense secretary on Tuesday. Previously, she was chosen to give insight to McGillis during the filming of Top Gun because, like the character in the film, Fox was never a pilot, but was an expert in air and maritime defense. Role model: Christine Fox, left, was the inspiration for Kelly McGillis' character, right, in Top Gun. She advised the actress and producers because, much like 'Charlie' in the film, she was a non-flying military expert. She will replace the current deputy Ashton Carter who is stepping down. In doing so, Fox will make American military history with no female having ever reached that rank in the U.S. defense department. Despite glittering career as a public servant, Fox may be better known as the inspiration for 'Charlie' Blackwood, a flight instructor and love interest to Tom Cruise's 'Maverick.' Kelly McGillis, left, starred alongside Tom Cruise in the iconic 1986 film. During the production, Fox spent time with both cast and crew of the Tony Scott film to advise them on factual accuracy. She famously told People magazine in 1985, 'I don't know anything about flying airplanes, but I know a lot about the guy in the back seat — his mission, his radar and his missiles'. Fox has previously held the post of director of cost controls at the Pentagon, which she left last summer. An American defense spokesperson confirmed that Fox will step into the role until the permanent successor for Carter is appointed. In a statement, defense secretary Chuck Hagel called Fox 'a brilliant defense thinker and proven manager (who) knows the intricacies of the Department's budget, programs and global operations better than anyone.' A senior defense official told NBC News that Fox would be able to 'hit the ground running like no one else can.' U.S. defense secretary Chuck Hagel has welcomed the appointment of Fox who he described as a 'brilliant defensive thinker'

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Christine Fox will take up role of acting deputy defense secretary. McGillis' character 'Charlie Blackwood' was modeled around her. Like Blackwood in the film, Fox is a non-flying airborne defense expert.

Text: Many people are worried about the potential health effects of man-made chemicals sprayed on crops. But now there’s a more natural alternative from an unlikely and very small source. Dutch inventors have created an ‘EcoFarm’ that is part fish tank and part herb box and will use fish waste as a natural fertiliser to help herbs and cherry tomatoes housed above the fish tank grow rapidly. Scroll down for video. Dutch inventors have created an 'EcoFarm' that is part fish tank and part herb box and uses fish waste as a natural fertiliser to help herbs and cherry tomatoes housed above the fish tank grow rapidly. The EcoFarm is a closed loop ecosystem that consists of a tank topped with a special grow bed filled with stones. The dirty water containing fish poo is pumped up into the grow bed where the plants grow on the rocks, with all the fertiliser and nutrients coming from the fish. Herbs and small fruit and vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, peppers and strawberries can be grown in the bed. The plants work as a natural filter and clean the water. Dirty water containing waste is pumped into the 'grow bed' to feed the plants, which in turn clean the water in the fish tank below. ‘We believe that local farming is the first step to deliver fresh tasty fruits and vegetables,’ said the inventors, who are currently raising funds on crowd funding website Kickstarter. ‘With this goal on mind, Ecobird has started to develop a product line based in aquaponics.’ Aquaponics is a food production system that combines conventional aquaculture, of raising aquatic animals in tanks, with hydroponics - cultivating plants in water. The inventors, who are based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, describe their EcoFarm as ‘a symbiotic environment where the waste of the fish is used as a natural fertiliser and the plants clean the water.’ 'You can grow fresh food with the tiniest amount of effort. The only thing you need to do is feed the fish.' It may seem to some people like a neat solution for something that aquarium owners have been doing for years – watering their plants with dirty water from their fish tank. The inventors, who are based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, describe their EcoFarm as 'a symbiotic environment where the waste of the fish is used as a natural fertiliser and the plants clean the water.' Illustrations of the EcoFarm are pictured. Many people have reported on internet forums that their houseplants have thrived faster than normal by using the fishy water. 'I wanted to see how well the water from my tanks would do as a fertiliser and the results are stunning,' one person wrote on fishforums.com, while another said: I've used my tank water for years. Better than any fertiliser I ever used.’ The EcoFarm costs from €85 (£68) in Europe and the kit will include a fish tank, grow bed, pump, stones and gravel, seeds to get them started. The product will be made using injection moulding. The company expects to start production in November and to ship the tanks just in time for Christmas, if it managed to raise the money needed. The team has so far raised €2,155 (£1,717) and have a target of €125,000 (£99,603).
Highlights:
The EcoFarm is part fish tank and part herb box. It's been invented by a team in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It uses fish waste as a natural fertiliser to help herbs and cherry tomatoes housed above the fish tank grow rapidly. Dirty water containing waste is pumped. into the 'grow bed' to feed the plants, which in turn clean the water in. the fish tank below. It is a type of hydroponics - cultivating plants in water.