A Delta Air Lines Airbus A321 was forced to reject takeoff at high speed after it sustained a bird strike, causing an engine fire at Denver Airport. The incident occurred on 26th July.
The Airbus A321-200, with registration N332DN, was accelerating for takeoff as flight DL1057 from Denver’s runway 08 bound for Atlanta, with 197 passengers on board. However, a bird was ingested by the left-hand engine, resulting in an engine fire.
According to the Avherald, the pilots rejected the takeoff at high speed (about 157 knots over ground), vacated the runway via a high-speed turnoff and stopped clear of the runway. The A321 blew the right main gear tires and it was towed to the apron about two hours later.
Eyewitnesses reported that they noticed smoke and flames coming from the aircraft and emergency services responded quickly. The engine fire was photographed by a passenger and posted on the internet.
Even though, the engine caught fire following the bird strike, the passengers and crew members on board evacuated the aircraft normally without using the slides. No one was injured and the passengers reached Atlanta in another aircraft.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement stating that the aircraft sustained substantial damage and rated the occurrence as an accident.
Delta Boeing 737 Disabled on Runway at LAX
Earlier on 19th July, a Delta Boeing 737 lost two of its right-hand main tyres during rollout at Los Angeles’s runway 24R. After losing both of its right-hand main tyres, the aircraft became disabled on the runway.
The Boeing 737-900, with registration N822DN, was performing flight DL515 from Atlanta to Los Angeles, with 190 passengers and crew members on board. Passengers reported having heard a loud bang during the rollout when both right-hand main tyres burst.
Runway 24L at LAX was temporarily closed until the aircraft was moved off the runway after a few hours. No one was injured in the incident and passengers disembarked the aircraft on the runway and were bussed to the terminal.
Feature Image: Alex Edwards via Twitter
Delta was not having a good week.
Most unusual for two tyres to burst on the same bogey. Presume ‘roll out’ here refers to taxiing to runway at low speed – even stranger. Suggests perhaps a maintenance issue, incorrect pressure?
The bird strike unfortunate, but at a high speed, must have been close to rotate?