In the last couple of days two incidents have occurred; one on an Iberia A350, which sustained damage after a bird strike, and one on an EgyptAir 737, which experienced both nose tyres bursting upon landing. Find all the details below:
Iberia Airbus A350-900 Birdstrike
Today, 27th October a two and half year old Iberia Airbus A350-900, registration EC-NDR and performing flight IB-6586 from Bogota, Colombia to Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport, Spain, was on final approach to Madrid’s runway 32L when a black vulture impacted the aircraft’s nose.
The aircraft continued on and made a safe landing about 90 seconds later, the runway was inspected shortly after. A black vulture (Aegypius monachus) normally has an average wingspan of two and half meters and can be up to 12 kilos in weight.
The aircraft is still on the ground and, according to FlightRadar24, has a scheduled flight for tomorrow, 28th October, to Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Egypt Air Boeing 737-800 Burst Nose Tyres
According to the AvHerald, a nine year old EgyptAir Boeing 737-800, registration SU-GEE and performing flight MS-2677 from Cairo, Egypt to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, touched down on Madinah’s runway and shortly after both nose tyres burst; this caused tyre debris to impact the fuselage, the engines and the wings.
The aircraft came to a stop on the runway and was disabled shortly after, the runway and the airport then had to be closed for around three hours.
The below photos show what the post-flight inspection revealed, this included damage to the underside of the left engine (CFM56) consistent with a possible pod strike. Onboard were 154 passengers and six crew.
Cover photo by Jacdec
A rare ocurrence. It is more usual on take off from LEMD because the protected area lying northwest of the airport. First time I ‘ve heard of a vulture strike on finals to 32L.