Bird strike forces AirAsia flight back to Phuket
Phuket Gazette


Several birds were sucked into the AirAsia engine. Photo: Supplied

PHUKET: -- AirAsia flight FD3167 from Phuket to Chiang Mai was forced to turn around 32 minutes after departing from Phuket International Airport, after a bird strike.

“We believe several birds were sucked into the engine of the plane… After that, the captain decided to turn the plane back and land in Phuket to have the engine checked,” Arun Lilapantisitti of AirAsia Phuket station said.

It took an engineering team about an hour to check and clean the engine to ensure the plane was safe to operate, Mr Arun said.

Two infants and 179 other passengers were on board the flight. Of those passengers, 18 were noted as having emergency reasons to be in Chiang Mai and transferred to another flight. Others were delayed by about an hour and half.

“The safety of our passengers is our top priority,” Mr Arun said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Bird-strike-forces-AirAsia-flight-back-to-Phuket-23126.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-12-28

Probably no need to abort for bird strike mid-flight, these engines are quite capable of handling them in reasonable amounts. But good decision anyways by the pilot.

Troll post removed

Glad to hear a pilot/driver in thailand doing the right thing for a change by putting safety at the front.

Better safe than sorry ! Good move AirAsia !!!

Q At what altitude would a flight from Phuket to Chang mai be ?

Well above the altitude of any flying birds, that is for sure.

What type of plane was it? My son-in-law works at Boeing and tells me that when they were developing the 777 and investigating whether two engines would be as safe as four they threw all kinds of junk into the engine and it didn't fail. I think that the newer engines are highly resistant to damage from bird strikes. Still,I can't fault the captain for being cautious, especially if the Air Asia plane was an older model.

Well done - exactly as they should, they returned to have checks made, and ensure the safety of the passengers and crew.

I imagine the bird strike would have occurred during the climb phase, as they pass through the lower levels where the birds fly.

What type of plane was it? My son-in-law works at Boeing and tells me that when they were developing the 777 and investigating whether two engines would be as safe as four they threw all kinds of junk into the engine and it didn't fail. I think that the newer engines are highly resistant to damage from bird strikes. Still,I can't fault the captain for being cautious, especially if the Air Asia plane was an older model.

Air Asia generally flies the A320-200s for short-haul flights. Air Asia X - the regional/long-haul arm of Air Asia, uses A330s.

Thank goodness no one was hurt.

What type of plane was it? My son-in-law works at Boeing and tells me that when they were developing the 777 and investigating whether two engines would be as safe as four they threw all kinds of junk into the engine and it didn't fail. I think that the newer engines are highly resistant to damage from bird strikes. Still,I can't fault the captain for being cautious, especially if the Air Asia plane was an older model.

The plane was A320 of which they own 70+ of, the oldest being 8 years which is not old in the industry at all and the newest 2 weeks old...

The age of an airliner has no bearing at all on what action the pilot should take in case of any incident.

Agree that the captain did as was neccessary[ and maybe mandatory] and return to nearest airport for inspection, as this is usually done as stipulated by either manufacturers and or operating companys policies.

I agree that what the captain did was probably determined by proper procedure rules. I'm not sure what engines the A320 uses but I have anecdotal evidence (my son-in-law's word) that the engines in the 777 are very tough indeed!

I agree that what the captain did was probably determined by proper procedure rules. I'm not sure what engines the A320 uses but I have anecdotal evidence (my son-in-law's word) that the engines in the 777 are very tough indeed!

It's too bad Boeing hadn't tested having someone sit 13 hours in the 3-4-3 seating arrangement used by AC in economy flights from Vancouver to Hongkong in the Long Haul 777. A real step back in comfort from a 767 with 2-4-2. (sorry for getting off topic... but I am still hot about it)

Phil: Yes, I agree that the seating on the 777 is bad and it's getting even worse with many airlines making their seats narrower and the seat cushions thinner. I try to avoid the 777 and my upcoming flights are on the A380, 787 and 747-400. I've heard cabin crew say that they don't like the 777 very much. I did fly on American's 777 last year but fortunately was upgraded to FC which had a comfortable 180 degree flat seat.

Let's all try and stay on the bird strike topic and not wander off into seating layouts. Thank you

Thank goodness no one was hurt.

Except for a few birds.

I agree that what the captain did was probably determined by proper procedure rules. I'm not sure what engines the A320 uses but I have anecdotal evidence (my son-in-law's word) that the engines in the 777 are very tough indeed!

AFAIK there are 3 major players now in jet engine manufacture...they all have to be very similar in all aspects including bird strike survivable..IOW they are all tough now..only the tough survive....

To those who don't realise the significance of a bird strike on airplanes, here"s a couple of minutes of some of the devastation they can cause..

^

Interesting video. Thanks.

That's an amazing video, see what a bird does to a fighter jet. Crazy

That's an amazing video, see what a bird does to a fighter jet. Crazy

Yeh, looked like it hit an emu or ostrich at Mach 2, but was probaby just a sparrow at 500 knots.

The tests aircraft engine manufacturers conduct to certify an engine is to fire a frozen chicken at the engine inlet using an air gun whilst the engine is at take off power. That is when the engine is most stressed. The test is to ensure the rotating parts of the engine, such as fan and compressor blades and turbine blades are what is termed "contained" and do not escape the engine nacelle and damage the airframe or kill pax. Engines can survive ingesting small birds with little damage, but large nunbers of birds and large birds will destroy an engine. It is true that most birdstrikes occur at take off, climb or landing, but karge migratory birds have been hit at altitude. Most crew see the birds approach the aircraft and in this case the crew probably saw the bird(s) and decided the engine may have been hit on take off or climb. The crew may have then decided to return and have the engine checked. The check requires a visual inspection of the engine inlet and if bird remains are found then theengine would be internally inspected using a borescope. A good video online produced by GE Engines of a birdstrike test will show the destruction of an engine by a 1 kilo frozen chicken.

pity they don't check buses for safety as thoroughly eh ?

andreandre: After I watched the clip you posted, many others popped up on the YouTube page and I enjoyed watching them all. It made for a pleasant 90 minutes of watching. Thanks!

andreandre: After I watched the clip you posted, many others popped up on the YouTube page and I enjoyed watching them all. It made for a pleasant 90 minutes of watching. Thanks!

You're welcome...as i said, a lot of people don't realise the significance of birdstrikes on aircraft...a hell of a lot more than when a sparrow hits your car which people can relate to.

PeVee1st: I thought that the engines needed to SURVIVE the strike of a one-kilo chicken! Did I get it wrong?

The most famous incident resulting from bird strikes is the ditching of a plane into the Hudson River when it hit a flock of Canadian Geese on take off.

PeVee1st: I thought that the engines needed to SURVIVE the strike of a one-kilo chicken! Did I get it wrong?

Did I get it wrong?

Yep..No way in the world can the internal workings of a jet engine survive the one kilo frozen chicken strike..it will be destroyed or at very least made inoperable.

The requirement now is that even when the engine flies apart after the strike all the fragments must be able to be contained within the engine covers and not to be spat out at high speed into the actual airplane and also not to cut fuel and hydraulic lines, resulting in catastrophe usually.

Modern twin engine airplanes are designed to fly on one engine if one fails, so a bird strike on one engine these days should not end in disaster..the Hudson River plane had multiple strikes to both engines which is relatively rare..Good luck and an experienced pilot saved the day on that one.