What happened
A Dassubault Falcon 20C was operating a chartered flight from Norwich, U.K., to Gothenburg, Sweden, following a morning positioning flight from Oslo. After boarding six passengers at approximately 15:20 hrs, the aircraft taxied toward runway 28 and received takeoff clearance. During the initial climb phase, the crew encountered three successive groups of birds. While the first two flocks were successfully avoided through altitude adjustments, a third large flock intersected the flight path between 100 and 200 feet.
Following this encounter, the crew heard multiple impacts against the airframe. The commander observed a rapid decline in engine RPM, engine pressure ratio, and exhaust gas temperature. Both engines subsequently failed, accompanied by loud bangs and abnormal vibrations. At an altitude of roughly 300 feet, with the landing gear still extended, the aircraft's airspeed decreased from 150 knots to 135 knots.
In an attempt to maintain control, the pilot maneuvered the aircraft toward a nearby field. Despite declining visibility due to approaching darkness, the crew successfully avoided trees at the edge of the landing site and performed a forced landing. Upon impact, the landing gear was torn from the airframe, and the fuselage came to rest on its belly. While all passengers were evacuated safely, the three crew members sustained various injuries.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the mechanical damage caused by bird ingestion into both engines. Contributing factors included a high concentration of seagulls present on or near the active runway during the takeoff sequence. Although no bird activity had been reported by air traffic control or observed by the crew during taxiing, the aircraft encountered significant avian hazards immediately after becoming airborne.