The Boeing 737-700 with 80 passengers on board was leaving Dusseldorf for Pristina in Kosovo when the incident happened.
It slammed into a flock of starlings at 300 kmh, knocking the right engine out of action and forcing the Germania Airlines jet to turn around and land again.
The birds – 20 cm wide and weighing 75 grams – hit the fuselage and the engine like a spray of bullets.
One BILD.de reader said: “The sound of the engine changed in a sudden burst.”
Jörg Handwerg (41), a spokesman for pilots union Cockpit, told BILD: “It was a critical situation, however this Boeing can also fly with only one engine.”
After suffering the bird strike, the pilot made the right choice by turning around and landing back in Dusseldorf 45 minutes later. Airport spokesman Christian Witt (35) said: “One of the engines was hit by birds, the plane is now being checked.”
It was fortunate that the starlings only took out one engine – in January, an Airbus was forced to crash land on the Hudson River in New York after a bird strike left the plane without power.
The Germania passengers were flown to Pristina a day later on a different aircraft.
Fonte: Bild.de
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Accident description
Date: 29-SEP-2009
Time: 11:00
Type: Boeing 737
Operator: Germania
Registration: D-ADII
C/n / msn: 23775/1412
Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 80
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Minor
Location: Düsseldorf - Germany
Phase: Take off
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Düsseldorf (DUS/EDDL)
Destination airport: Prishtina (PRN/BKPRN)
Narrative:
Birdstrike on takeoff. Safety landing with one engine
Fonte: Aviation Safety
