Lack of bird patrol led to flight diversion

Lack of bird patrol led to flight diversion


Anton McNulty

The failure of Air Traffic Control at Ireland West Airport Knock to request a bird patrol immediately before the take-off of a passenger aircraft in 2009 resulted in the plane undergoing an emergency landing.
The two engines of a BMI Baby Boeing 737 were damaged when it encountered a flock of lapwings and sustained multiple bird strikes when it was taking off from Knock on a scheduled flight to Manchester. As a result of the bird strike, the plane was forced to divert to Shannon Airport where it touched down without incident.
The birdstrike occurred on October 19, 2009 shortly after take off at 2.20pm when the aircraft hit the birds ‘head on’. The flight crew saw numerous birds going down either side of the aircraft while the cabin crew reported unusual smells in the cabin and significant vibrations on the left side of the aircraft. As a result they decided to divert to Shannon.
The report from the Air Accident Investigation found that no bird patrols were carried out at Knock for approximately two and a half hours prior to the incident flight.