An Airbus A321 operated by Lufthansa is one of the latest commercial aircraft to suffer a bird strike. On its way to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, last week, the plane halted its climb shortly after takeoff and rerouted to return to Frankfurt, German
The flight, intended to last around two hours, was just over 20 minutes due to the incident. Lufthansa did deploy another aircraft to finish the flight, but it was evidently delayed. The flight, intended to last around two hours, was just over 20 minutes due to the incident. Lufthansa did deploy another aircraft to finish the flight, but it was evidently delayed.
At 09:31, D-AIRK was flying just under 6,000 feet at around 270 knots. By 09:33, the aircraft had lined up for its final approach on Runway 25C and landed safely at 09:38, about 21 minutes after take off. Although the exact gate where passengers disembarked is unclear, Flight Aware data shows that the plane arrived at its gate at 10:09.
After the engine ingested the bird, it reportedly continued to develop normal thrust but was performing with increased N1 vibrations, and a whistling noise was heard, which is not typical. According to The Aviation Herald, inspectors found that some fan blades were bent and traces of blood. Additionally, a smell from the engine's core reportedly suggested that the bird went through the engine's hot section. However, no scent was detected inside the cabin because the aircraft's auxiliary power unit (APU) powered the air conditioning throughout the flight.
