A 'Bird Strike' Forced An Airbus A330 Carrying 312 People To Make Emergency Landing
The flight's engine caught fire following a 'bird strike'.
By Sadho Ram — 19 Aug 2016, 03:32 AM
A Qatar Airways flight QR240 was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport shortly after take-off when one of its engines caught fire following a 'bird strike' on Thursday, 18 August. The passenger flight was headed for Doha, Qatar.
The flight, an Airbus A330, was carrying 312 people onboard, of which 14 were crew. They were all evacuated safely. Qatar Airways said the fire was due to a 'bird strike', reported Daily Mail Online.
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways told MailOnline: "Qatar Airways can confirm that QR240 from Istanbul to Doha experienced a bird strike, which resulted in its safe return to Istanbul. All 298 passengers and 14 crew disembarked normally and the airline is sending a replacement aircraft to Istanbul. Customer needs, including onward travel, will be taken care of by the airline. The safety of our passengers is our most important responsibility. The pilot followed all safety procedures."
dailymail.co.ukA collision between an airborne animal and an aircraft is called a 'bird strike'. During the collision, large flocks are sucked into jet engines, causing them to fail by breaking fan blades. Watch:
When a bird flies into a plane engine, nothing happens, as most 'bird strikes' don't damage an aircraft at all. However, even if a 'bird strike' does disable a plane engine, that doesn't mean it will result in a crash. That said, back in 2009, a US Airways flight had crashed into the Hudson River after birds flew into the plane's engines.
These photos, provided by Turkish news site, AirportHaber, show airport workers in high-vis jackets peering into the Airbus A330's left engine. Daily Mail said that there was 'damage to the blades'.
