Passengers aboard an Iberia flight from Madrid to Paris have described moments of 'sheer panic' after a large bird struck the aircraft, causing severe damage to the nose and prompting an emergency landing. The Airbus A321XLR, flight IB579, was forced to return to Madrid-Barajas airport on Sunday evening shortly after takeoff.
The collision occurred at around 6.30pm, and the crew immediately contacted air traffic control to declare an emergency. Passengers reported that oxygen masks dropped and the cabin filled with smoke, with some having to manually pull down the masks. One woman said, 'We couldn't breathe.'
The aircraft landed safely on runway 32L, where emergency services were on standby. Firefighters inspected the plane, and no injuries were reported. The Spanish air traffic controllers praised the 'great work of the crew' in handling the incident.
Images from the scene show a large section of the nose radome and weather radar antenna ripped off. The bird also struck one of the engines. Iberia stated that the flight crew acted with 'utmost professionalism' and that a recovery flight departed for Paris-Orly shortly after 7:30pm.
