Southwest B737 at Flint on Sep 2nd 2013, bird strike

Last Update: September 4, 2013 / 16:33:16 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Sep 2, 2013

Classification
Accident

Cause
Bird strike

Airline
Southwest Airlines

Flight number
WN-4273

Departure
Flint, United States

Destination
Tampa, United States

Aircraft Registration
N276WN

Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-700

ICAO Type Designator
B737

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N276WN performing flight WN-4273 from Flint,MI to Tampa,FL (USA) with 123 people on board, was accelerating for takeoff from Flint's runway 27 when the aircraft rolled through a flock of birds and suffered multiple bird impacts. The crew continued takeoff, barely acknowledged the tower instruction to contact departure and did not report on departure until the controller inquired whether they were on his frequency. The crew indicated they needed to return to Flint. The controller indicated he had some information to forward to them, reply "not now". About 3 minutes later the crew reported they went through a flock of birds just upon rotation, they were pretty busy. In the meantime tower initiated a runway inspection. The crew advised they needed nice easy turns and could not accept a sharp turn to intercept the localizer. The crew advised the controllers the "airplane simply didn't feel right", they lost a system or two and were trying to work it out during final approach. The runway inspection reported they couldn't see anything on the runway, but there were two dead birds looking like eagles south of runway 27 and east of runway 36 (editorial note: about 800 meters/2620 feet down the runway 27). The aircraft landed safely on Flint's runway 27 about 20 minutes after departure. The crew radioed tower after landing: "Thank you so much for all your help!"

The airport swept the runway following landing before returning it to service.

The FAA reported the aircraft received substantial damage and rated the occurrence an accident.

A replacement Boeing 737-700 reached Tampa with a delay of 3:20 hours.
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N276WN
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
Aled hgmAqnk Subscribe to unlock
TCDS Ident. No.
qcnb Subscribe to unlock
Manufacturer
BOEING
Aircraft Model / Type
737-7H4
Number of Seats
Bqg Subscribe to unlock
ICAO Aircraft Type
B737
Year of Manufacture
Bp b Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
Gkebl Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
KAllpk Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
C Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Bddpkgjc Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
EffcqiAinA Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
Hlk efAfc Subscribe to unlock
Pounds of Thrust
AA nl Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
Ldifj npnplpe fjnjppkiiklkqdjqdlAbckmdcndbggegchlhechkbgdipmAggjcqldbgicckjhlAkj Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Sep 2, 2013

Classification
Accident

Cause
Bird strike

Airline
Southwest Airlines

Flight number
WN-4273

Departure
Flint, United States

Destination
Tampa, United States

Aircraft Registration
N276WN

Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-700

ICAO Type Designator
B737

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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