Incident
On January 28, 2026, at 1505 eastern standard time, Alaska Airlines flight 2616, an Airbus A330-343 registered as N5827K, struck a flock of geese during initial climb after taking off from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Hebron, Kentucky. The aircraft was operating as a domestic cargo flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 for Amazon.com Services LLC, with a planned destination of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas. The flight crew consisted of two pilots, neither of whom reported any injuries.
According to the flight crew, after departure from runway 27, while climbing through 900 to 1,000 feet, the captain spotted a flock of geese moving from right to left. The captain, serving as pilot monitoring, called out “birds,” and the crew felt multiple impacts on both sides of the aircraft. The electronic centralized aircraft monitor (ECAM) displayed a warning and a master caution indication, followed by an ENG 1 FAULT message and then an ENG 1 FAIL indication for the No. 1 (left) engine. The crew performed ECAM procedures for the engine failure, and the captain notified air traffic control (ATC) of the bird strike, declared an emergency, and requested a return to CVG.
ATC provided vectors for landing on runway 36R. During the return flight, the crew noticed smoke entering the cockpit and received a MD (main deck) SMOKE ECAM message. They donned oxygen masks and executed the quick reference handbook (QRH) procedure for the smoke indication. After configuring the aircraft for landing, the smoke dissipated, and the crew removed their masks for the remainder of the approach and landing.
Aftermath
Following landing, the first officer (pilot flying) stopped the aircraft on the runway, where airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) personnel inspected it. The crew completed the left engine failure ECAM procedures and discharged fire extinguishing agent. After confirming no fire, ground personnel towed the aircraft to the ramp. Airport operations personnel reported recovering the remains of eight Canada geese after the event.
A postaccident examination revealed bird remnants on several areas: the left main landing gear door and strut, the left-wing inboard flap, the No. 2 (right) engine pylon, and the right-wing leading-edge slat and slat track. Both engines showed evidence of bird ingestion. Damage and bird remains were found on the left engine nacelle (inside and outside the inlet) and fan blades; the left engine fan had restricted rotation and was visibly misaligned. The right engine exhibited damage to the inlet cowl acoustic liner, with bird remnants on the spinner and exhaust nozzle, but its fan rotated freely.
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened an investigation and invited qualified parties, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Alaska Airlines. In accordance with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, accredited representatives from the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) of France (state of manufacture for the airplane), the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the United Kingdom (state of manufacture for the engines), and the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) (state of design for the engines) participated, with Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) serving as technical advisors. NTSB specialists assigned to the investigation included those for Airports, Powerplants, and Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The investigation is ongoing.