A flight attendant had to be treated for smoke inhalation, while several passengers on an Iberia flight from Madrid to Paris required assistance for anxiety attacks after the plane hit a large bird shortly after takeoff from Adolfo Suárez Barajas Airport on Sunday.
The almost brand-new plane, which was only delivered to the Spanish flag carrier last month, suffered significant damage as a result of the bird strike, with photos of the badly punctured radome quickly going viral on social media.
Flight Details:
- Flight Number: IB-579 (MAD-ORY)
- Aircraft: Airbus A321XLR
- Delivery date: July 2, 2025
- Engines: 2 x CFM LEAP 1A
What Happened?
Iberia flight IB-579 from Madrid to Paris Orly on Sunday afternoon was being operated by a brand new Airbus A321 XLR for what should have been a routine one and a half hour flight.
The flight departed runway 36L at Madrid Barajas at approximately 4:42 pm on July 3, but just a few minutes after takeoff and in the midst of its initial ascent, the aircraft suffered a bird strike.
The large bird collided with the nose of the plane and was then sucked into the left engine. The aircraft climbed to a maximum altitude of around 6,500 feet, as the pilots immediately turned around and landed back in Madrid just 23 minutes after taking off.
It has been reported that shortly after the bird strike, smoke started to fill the cabin of the plane, and one of the flight attendants had to be treated for smoke inhalation. Several passengers became so upset during the incident that they had to receive medical care for anxiety attacks.
Once safely on the ground, the damage to the radome of the plane became clear, with a large portion of the nose missing. Damage was also spotted around the fan blades of the left-hand engine.
What Does Iberia Says About The Incident?
In a detailed statement, a spokesperson for Iberia explained:
“A few minutes after taking off from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, flight IB579 bound for Paris was struck by a large bird on the front section of the aircraft and on one of its engines.”
“In accordance with the established safety protocols for such situations, the captain requested authorization to return to the departure airport, where the aircraft landed safely.”
The statement added: “As a result of the incident, one cabin crew member was treated for smoke inhalation and several passengers required assistance on the ground due to anxiety attacks.”
“The entire flight crew, including pilots and cabin crew, acted with the utmost professionalism to manage the situation and care for the passengers.”
The spokesperson noted that an extra flight was added to get the delayed passengers to Paris on the same day, with the new flight departing Madrid at 7:30 pm on Sunday.
Could A Safety Feature In The Engines Be To Blame?
The fact that the bird strike reportedly caused smoke to enter the cabin has raised fears that a safety feature built into the engines could be to blame.
There have been similar incidents linked to the ‘Load Reduction Device’ installed on CFM LEAP engines, which were the engines on this particular aircraft, although a spokesperson for Iberia for not specifically comment on this issue.
The Load Reduction Device (LRD) is designed to activate when the engine fan suffers serious damage, say as a result of a bird strike. In these circumstances, the fans could be imbalanced and start vibrating, so the LRD disconnects the fan from the engine shaft.
Aviation Regulators Issue Urgent Alert Over Safety Feature
Unfortunately, there have been two recent incidents in which the LRD was activated on CFM LEAP engines on Boeing 737 MAX jets, which caused an oil leak in the engine.
As the air to the cabin and cockpit is supplied through engine ‘bleed’ air, it’s suspected that the oil vaporized and was sucked into the bleed air system, ending up in the cockpit in one incident and the cabin in another incident.
In June, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US issued an alert for CFM LEAP engines installed on Boeing 737 jets following a bird strike on a Southwest Airlines flight that ended with smoke in the cockpit.
CFM and Boeing are currently working on a software patch that will shut off the pressure regulating valve more quickly in the event of the LRD activating. This should then prevent any smoke from entering the cockpit or the cabin.
At the moment, this warning only applies to Boeing 737 aircraft and not Airbus planes with CFM LEAP engines.
Other Recent Bird Strike Incidents
Perhaps the most worrying recent bird strike incident in recent times occurred on December 29, 2024, when a Jeju Air Boeing 737 crashed at Maun International Airport in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, killing all but two people onboard the plane.
The aircraft is believed to have suffered a bird strike to the starboard engine as it was on final approach for landing. While the exact circumstances of what happened next are still being examined, investigators suspect that the pilots may have accidentally shut down the wrong engine.
The plane then failed to decelerate as it landed and slid down the end of the runway, colliding with a large barrier and bursting into a ball of flames.
Two flight attendants who were sitting at the very back of the plane managed to escape the wreckage, but everyone else tragically died.
