A suspected bird strike has been blamed for damage to the engine of an AirAsia X flight forced to divert to Brisbane on Monday night.
The Airbus A330 travelling from Queensland’s Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur with 345 passengers and 14 crew took off about 10:20pm diverted to Brisbane to land safely shortly after 11:30pm.
This is the second AirAsia X engine incident in just over a week after another of the airline’s A330s suffered what is believed to have been a fan blade failure in Perth and began shaking "like a washing machine''.
Passengers reports said the latest aircraft, operating as flight D7 207, started shaking and there was a series of bangs shortly after take-off. There were also reports of a fiery glow from the engine.
The ABC reported that 22-year-old passenger Calvin Boon saw flames coming from the plane.
"The whole engine blown and flame [sic] went through it all like Resident Evil man really, Resident Evil," he said.
AirAsia X said the remains of two birds, identified in some media as plovers, were found on the runway of the Gold Coast Airport.
“Passengers on board the flight were attended to by the ground staff upon landing and were provided with all necessary assistance, including hotel accommodation in Brisbane,’’ it said in a statement.
The airline organised a recovery flight to allow the passengers to continue their journey.
Gold Coast Airport it was working with partners to investigate the incident.
“Gold Coast Airport has developed and implemented an extensive wildlife management program,’’ it said. “The airport also has a long-standing relationship with a leading bird strike management specialist, providing technical advice and assistance in active management of wildlife at the airport.”
Bird strikes — particularly those involving a flock of birds —are a significant threat to aircraft and have caused a number of accidents, the most famous of which is arguably the “Miracle on the Hudson’’ in 2009.
In that incident, a US Airways A320 lost both engines after it was struck by a flock of Canada geese minutes after taking off from New York but landed intact in the Hudson River thanks to the skill of the pilots.
Engine makers are required to test their engines to ensure they can be shut down safely after ingesting a large bird, even if the engine does not survive. They do this by shooting a bird carcass into an engine on a test bed.
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