What happened
On June 28, 2023, at 17:15 local time, an Agusta AW139, registration EC-LFQ, was conducting a non-commercial positioning flight from Santiago de Compostela to Jerez. While cruising at approximately 7,000 ft MSL and a ground speed of 155 kt, the crew observed a pair of birds in their flight path.
Flight data recorder (FDR) analysis confirms that the crew initiated a rapid evasive maneuver, involving left and right turns, to avoid the animals. Despite these efforts, the aircraft struck one of the birds. The impact caused significant damage to the right side of the horizontal stabilizer and parts of the fuselage.
Following the collision, the crew reduced airspeed and monitored the aircraft's parameters. Finding no unusual vibrations or technical malfunctions, the crew elected to continue the flight to the destination. The aircraft landed safely in Jerez at 18:38 local time, where the extent of the structural damage was identified.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation focused on the sequence of events and the nature of the impact. Investigators examined the FDR, which showed the crew manually took control of the aircraft to perform the evasive maneuvers at 15:15 UTC.
While the exact species of the bird could not be identified due to the deteriorated state of a recovered feather, investigators noted that the area is predominantly inhabited by griffon vultures. The investigation also highlighted that the collision occurred at an altitude of 7,000 ft, which is statistically exceptional, as only about 1% of bird strike incidents occur above 2,500 ft AGL.