Bird strike and blown tyres = runway evacuation

A Vueling Airbus traveling from Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport (BCN/LEBL) to Sevilla Airport (SVQ/LEZL) was in its take-off run on runway 25L at Barcelona when a large birstrike into an
engine forced the pilots to abort the take-off. The left main gear and nose tyres exploded due to the weight and the high-speed braking.

The incident took place on Sunday morning, (16th of July).

The pilot informed air traffic control of the incident and the 180 passengers on the flight VY2212 were evacuated on the runway via the emergency ramps and half a dozen passengers were treated on the spot for minor injuries, meanwhile the aircraft was declared ‘aircraft on ground’ for a thorough engineering inspection. 

According to a spokesperson from Vueling, the passengers were then transported to another Vueling flight which took off from the airport at 12:30pm local time. The incident saw all take-offs postponed for 45 minutes for safety reasons as airport technicians checked the runway. 

Bird strikes pose a significant threat to flight safety, but they are always fatal for the birds.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Vueling 

Code: VY/VLG

Aircraft: Airbus A320-214

Registration: EC-JTR

Serial number: 2798

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B4/P
First flew:25/05/2006
Age: 17.1 years