Incident Overview
On 3 September 2021, a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, registration PH-BVK, operated by KLM as flight KL590, experienced a bird strike while at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra, Ghana. The incident was investigated by the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIB Ghana) under ICAO Annex 13 and the Ghana Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau Act, 2020. The investigation's sole objective was to prevent future occurrences, not to apportion blame or liability.
Investigation Scope
The investigation covered factual information including the history of the flight, injuries to persons, damage to the aircraft, other damage, personnel and aircraft details, meteorological conditions, navigation aids, communications, aerodrome information, flight recorders, wreckage, medical and pathological data, fire, survival aspects, tests, organizational management, and additional information. The analysis addressed flight operations, aircraft maintenance, and wildlife and environmental factors. The report concluded with findings, causal and contributing factors, and safety recommendations.
Aircraft and Operator Details
The aircraft was a Boeing 777-300ER with registration PH-BVK. The operator was Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KLM), holding a valid foreign air operator certificate.
Wildlife Information
The report identified the bird involved as the African Wattled Lapwing (Figure 3). It presented statistics on wildlife strike incidents at KIA from 2016 to 2020 (Figure 4) and a bird strike trend for 2021 (Figure 5).
Appendices
The report included appendices with the incident notification, images of wheels worn to cords, an illustration of the bird strike impact area, extracts from the aircraft maintenance log, an aerodrome information chart, the validated foreign air operator certificate, operational conditions and limitations, and the KLM occurrence report.