Thomson B738 at Bournemouth on Jan 10th 2017, bird strike
Last Update: March 9, 2017 / 14:38:09 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Jan 10, 2017
Classification
Incident
Cause
Bird strike
Airline
Thomson Airways
Flight number
BY-6248
Departure
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Destination
Tenerife South, Spain
Aircraft Registration
G-FDZY
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
The airline reported the crew suspected a bird strike and diverted to Gatwick as a precaution.
A passenger tweeted a photo of the captain showing a dead seagull in a plastic bag to the passengers after landing reporting the seagull had been ingested into the engine.
A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration G-TAWR continued the flight and reached Tenerife with a delay of 4 hours.
On Mar 9th 2017 the AAIB released their bulletin writing:
As the aircraft was rotated for takeoff the left engine ingested a bird, which was later identified as a seagull. A change to the engine sound was heard and the indicated engine vibration increased, accompanied by light airframe vibration. Takeoff thrust was maintained without engine limits being exceeded.
The crew levelled the aircraft at 4,000 ft amsl to assess the situation and requested a return to Bournemouth to hold. They informed ATC of the birdstrike and asked for the runway to be inspected.
With the aircraft in level flight, the vibration reduced and the engine was operating within allowable parameters. The crew liaised with the aircraft operator by radio and decided to divert to London Gatwick, which has a longer runway than Bournemouth. The time in the hold was used to brief the crew and passengers, burn fuel to reduce the landing weight and consult the Quick Reference Handbook; the ‘High Engine Vibration’ checklist was reviewed to pre-empt an increase in vibration in the event of a go-around. It was apparent that engine vibration worsened if power was increased, so the crew decided to perform a precautionary overweight landing using flap 15. Landing performance was confirmed satisfactory and the crew briefed on flare technique, stopping and selecting non-standard flap 1 in the event of a go-around.
A PAN call was made when the diversion was initiated and the crew briefed Gatwick ATC that they intended to vacate the runway and stop to allow the fire service to examine the engine and brakes. The crew informed the cabin crew and passengers that they were diverting to Gatwick and explained the expected order of events on the ground.
The landing was uneventful and, after the fire service had completed an external check of the aircraft, it was taxied to a parking stand with the left engine shut down. Three fan blades were damaged by the birdstrike. The engine was subsequently repaired on-wing.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Jan 10, 2017
Classification
Incident
Cause
Bird strike
Airline
Thomson Airways
Flight number
BY-6248
Departure
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Destination
Tenerife South, Spain
Aircraft Registration
G-FDZY
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-800
ICAO Type Designator
B738
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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