A Jet2 flight bound for the Greek island of Crete was forced to divert to Manchester Airport after colliding with a bird moments after departing.
Flight LS443, carrying passengers from Leeds Bradford Airport to Heraklion Airport, took off at approximately 9am on Monday before the incident occurred, causing the crew to abandon their ascent immediately.
The Boeing 737-800 touched down safely at Manchester at 9.53am following the bird strike, believed to have been a flock of geese.
Flight tracking data revealed the aircraft had descended to roughly 4,500ft after the collision, with pilots circling at reduced altitude while they became aware of potential damage to the plane.
A passenger named Alex, from Baildon, recounted hearing “a very loud bang” aboard the aircraft, which was immediately followed by an “immediate smell of burning feathers and flesh”.
He explained that the plane remained in a holding pattern north of Manchester at 10,000ft for approximately one hour while awaiting clearance to land.
Upon touching down, emergency services were positioned at the runway’s end to examine both the engine and landing gear, as the aircraft was carrying more fuel than typical for a landing.
“We landed heavy,” Alex told The Yorkshire Post, describing how crews inspected the plane before passengers could disembark.
Passengers on the Jet2 flight detected an ‘immediate smell of burning feathers and flesh’
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PADespite Leeds Bradford being the nearest airport, the decision was taken to reroute to Manchester instead.
According to aviation outlet AirLive, this represents standard practice for aircraft experiencing technical difficulties in the region, owing to Manchester’s longer runways, superior maintenance facilities and greater capacity for rebooking travellers.
Passengers were transferred to a replacement Airbus A320 at Manchester and resumed their journey before midday.
Alex praised the airline for how it managed the situation, adding: “The crew handled it brilliantly with immediate updates from the cockpit to put people at ease and let us know the plan.”
Complimentary drinks were also offered on the subsequent flight, to compensate for the inconvenience.
Bird strikes most commonly occur during takeoff, landing, or low-altitude flight.
Such incidents, where airborne wildlife strikes a moving plane, pose significant safety risks and require thorough investigation before normal operations can resume.
While catastrophic accidents are rare, bird strikes can damage engines, windshields, and airframes, reportedly causing more than $900million in annual damage to US civil and military aviation.
Bird strikes are more common than one might think, with several flights from UK airports facing similar emergency diversions since January.
At the beginning of the year, a Bristol-bound EasyJet flight was forced to land 180 miles away from its destination after a fuel emergency caused by a bird strike on January 25.
Not long after, a flight from Liverpool to Fuerteventura declared an emergency shortly after takeoff in February after striking a bird mere moments after takeoff.