The jet was damaged and had to make an emergency landing in Munich, as Austrian Wings announced on Wednesday. The Airbus A319-112 from AUA parent company Lufthansa was able to land safely. No one was injured in the incident.
The bird strike caused problems with the speed display on October 19th. Because of the technical problems, the crew of the plane decided to take off and move to Munich. The Airbus with the registration D-AIBA was on its way from Frankfurt to Salzburg. While the aircraft was making its final approach to runway 15 in Salzburg, the twin-engine aircraft ran into a flock of birds around 9:17 p.m. UTC (11:17 p.m. local time). Several of the animals crashed into the fuselage of the aircraft, damaging, among other things, the sensors that provide the data for the correct display of flight speed.
More on the topic
Pilots not trained? Public prosecutor’s office is investigating AUA
At this point, the Airbus A319 had an approach speed of around 240 knots, which corresponds to around 440 kilometers per hour. The pilots immediately initiated a go-around maneuver. Such a procedure is common in such incidents and is an expression of a high security culture, it said. The pilots declared an air emergency and informed air traffic control that they no longer had reliable speed indicators. The crew then worked through their respective checklists.
As the “Aviation Herald” reported, the pilots then flew manually at an altitude of 10,000 feet (just over 3,000 meters) to Munich, where the Airbus A319 landed safely and was received by emergency services. It was a routine measure after an air emergency was declared.
On-board electrical system failed
According to passenger reports, the pilots informed the passengers on board that the bird strike had caused not only the speed indicators to fail, but also the on-board electrical system. The damaged aircraft is still on the ground and is being inspected by Lufthansa technology experts.
Although birds do not generally cause a large airliner to crash immediately, they still represent a danger that should not be underestimated. A bird strike, also known as a bird strike, can, as in this case, cause significant damage that could jeopardize the functionality of the aircraft The aircraft may be severely affected and an emergency landing may be necessary.
The most spectacular case of a bird strike in recent years was US Airways Flight 1549. At that time, an Airbus A320 ran into a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from New York, causing both engines to fail at the same time. The experienced pilots Chesley Sullenburger and Jeffrey B. Skiles managed a successful ditching on the Hudson River in the middle of New York – an aeronautical masterpiece that has gone down in aviation history.
