Breaking: Dana Air loses aircraft engine to bird strike

One of the planes in the fleet of Dana Air yesterday suffered an incident of bird strike when one of its engines sunk in a bird which damaged the affected engine.

The aircraft with passengers on board were heading to Port-Harcourt when the incident generally known as bird strike happened.

Confirming the bird strike incident, the spokesperson to the airline, Kingsley Ezenwa said the bird strike which occurred 11:00am (WAT) Friday, forced the pilot to make an air return to the departure point, Lagos.

A statement Ezenwa issued and made available to journalist declared: “On 21st of April, one of our aircraft with registration number 5N-SRI operating our 11am flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt, had an air return due to Bird strike during take-off from Lagos, and our Captain took a professional decision and returned to the Lagos Airport.

“A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft which is airborne and as per standard safety procedure, which is the hallmark of our operation, our pilot returned to base.”

“Our guests have however been reprotected on another aircraft to ensure that their itinerary is not entirely disrupted. The aircraft is currently being evaluated by our engineers to determine the effect of the bird strike on the affected engine.”

“At Dana Air, the safety and comfort of our guests will remain a top priority to us and we will stop at nothing in our commitment towards offering a safe and reliable air transport.”

The issue of bird strike has become one of the greatest challenges confronting airlines in the country.

Birds are described as a threat to safety for crew and passengers on board aircraft as they can cause major damage to an airplane in a short period of time and sometimes that lack of time to recover can lead to injuries or fatalities.

They most often occur during take-off or landing, or during low-altitude flight, when an airplane is most likely to be sharing the same airspace as a bird.

Take-offs can be particularly dangerous, given the higher speeds and the angle of ascent. If a bird gets caught in an engine during take-off it can greatly affect the functionality of the engine, as illustrated in US Airways Flight 1549.