An investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining a mid-air incident on a Ryanair flight where a passenger was partially sucked out of a window at 20,000 feet. The preliminary report suggests a suspected bird strike may have caused a piece of the engine to break off, leading to cabin depressurization. The flight, en route from Greece to Germany, was forced to make an emergency landing back at its departure airport in Thessaloniki.
During the flight, a loud bang was heard less than ten minutes after takeoff, and fractured fan blades were discovered in the number two engine, along with three loose fan blade fragments. The NTSB report indicated that the crew had reported four suspected bird strikes to the same engine in the 12 months prior to the incident. Bird remains were found in two of those instances, though no damage was reported during subsequent maintenance checks.
This event follows other recent incidents linked to bird strikes. On August 10, an American Airlines plane experienced flames erupting from its engine after colliding with birds, necessitating an emergency landing. Bird remains were found on the runway following the event. In January, an Air New Zealand flight to Brisbane was canceled just before takeoff due to a bird strike.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), bird strikes are a common occurrence, despite efforts by airfields to manage bird populations. Former airline captain Emma Henderson stated that bird strikes are reported to aviation authorities and require aircraft inspections to ensure there is no unseen damage. The CAA considers bird strikes a cause of damage to aircraft with the potential to cause accidents, though risks can be minimized through effective bird control measures.
Reported bird strikes in the UK have shown an increase in recent years, with 1,702 confirmed instances in 2024, up from 1,676 in 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers dropped to 739 in 2020, from 1,579 in 2019, before rising to 741 in 2021 and 1,445 in 2022 as travel resumed.
While bird strikes are generally not considered dangerous due to the size and technology of modern aircraft, certain areas of a plane are more vulnerable. Pilot Institute reports that propellers are particularly susceptible to damage from bird impacts, which can cause shock loads to the engine. Birds entering engines can disrupt their function, as can impacts to probes that supply data to the cockpit.
To mitigate risks, pilots reduce speed below 10,000 feet, which lessens the energy of a potential strike. External lights are also activated during descent to alert birds. However, pilots cannot maneuver aircraft to avoid birds in flight, as doing so near the ground could lead to an undesirable aircraft attitude. Airport authorities employ strategies such as studying migration patterns and using bird scaring techniques to prevent strikes.