EgyptAir Plane Collides With Bird at London Heathrow Airport, Delaying Flight

An EgyptAir aircraft was struck by a bird as it was landing at London’s Heathrow Airport on Friday, reports Ahram Online. The bird flew into the plane’s front end, causing great damage to its nose, leaving a hole in the front of the plane.

The Boeing 737-800 was scheduled to take off back to Cairo on Friday at 10:30 PM, but it was delayed until the following day for maintenance and repairs at Heathrow Airport.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), 90 percent of bird-aircraft collisions occur near airports. ICAO regulations stipulate that airports take measures to eliminate the risk of bird-aircraft collisions.

A US Federal Aviation Organisation report estimates wildlife-aircraft collisions in the United States at 99,530 incidents between 1990 – 2014, 8,659 out of which resulted in damage to the plane.