Pigeons hit plane engine and spark emergency landing at Dublin Airport

An Aer Lingus jet preparing its takeoff from Dublin Airport was forced to make an emergency landing when a flock of birds hit the engine.

The pilot informed the passengers that a “flock of pigeons” struck the right engine of the airbus A330-300. At 12:12 in the morning, the plane took off from the North runway but soon made a U-turn and made an emergency landing, according to Dublin Live.

15 minutes later, the 16-year-old aircraft touched down once more on the South runway at Dublin Airport. However, passenger David O’Connor remarked that the pilot did a “top notch job” despite the strike’s “major vibrations” on the aircraft.

He wrote on Twitter: “My Aer Lingus flight EI123 from Dublin to Chicago just had a bird strike in number 2 engine on takeoff. Captain says it was a flock of pigeons.

“Major vibration after takeoff lead to an emergency landing back in Dublin. Happened today April 13 at 12pm.” He added that the pilot did a “top notch job”.

After the plane landed, emergency personnel can be seen inspecting the right engine in a video that Mr. O’Connor shared under the twitter name @iamirishdave.

A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus told Dublin Live: “Aer Lingus flight EI123 operating from Dublin to Chicago this afternoon was required to turn back when the aircraft experienced a bird strike shortly after take-off.

“The aircraft landed safely at Dublin Airport and all customers and crew are safely disembarking. We are working on getting impacted customers to their destination as quickly as possible.”

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