Factual Occurrence Description
On the morning of 20 June 2011, an Airbus A320-212, registration CS-TKJ, operated by SATA International, was scheduled for a commercial flight from Madeira Airport (LPMA) to Copenhagen (EKCH) with 7 crew members and 105 passengers on board.
The aircraft taxied to Runway 05 for take-off and accelerated normally. At approximately two-thirds down the runway, around 08:21:50 UTC, as it approached rotation speed, the aircraft encountered a large flock of seagulls perched on the runway surface. As the birds took flight, they struck the aircraft, hitting the landing gear, flaps, and lower surfaces of the fuselage and wings. Some birds were ingested into both engines, resulting in intense vibrations felt throughout the aircraft. The N1 vibration readings on the ECAM engine page flashed and reached their maximum value.
At 08:22:16 UTC, the crew declared mayday and alerted the air traffic controller of the possibility of both engines failing, requesting an immediate return. The crew performed a climbing right turn. At approximately 900 feet (08:22:21 UTC), they reduced engine power to diminish vibrations, causing a 150-foot altitude loss. At 08:23:07 UTC, the crew requested immediate landing, which was acknowledged. Power was reapplied, and the aircraft climbed to about 1000 feet (08:23:30 UTC) before descending in a right-hand circuit to approach and land on Runway 05, maintaining an average airspeed of 150 knots. Despite vibrations, the engines continued to operate normally with negligible thrust reduction. The landing gear was initially retracted after take-off but was extended a few seconds later upon the decision to land. The flaps/slats configuration remained unchanged.
The aircraft performed a safe overweight landing on Runway 05 at 08:25:06 UTC, just over 3 minutes after take-off and the multiple bird strikes.
During the landing roll, as the aircraft decelerated below 80 knots, the crew received a master caution DOOR FWD CARGO message on the ECAM, and the DOOR page appeared showing the forward cargo door symbol in amber (08:25:21 UTC). Soon after, the tower informed the crew that the forward cargo door was open while the aircraft taxied to the stand.
An aviation enthusiast and photographer positioned near the runway threshold photographed the aircraft during departure and after its return. The photos confirmed the forward cargo door was open during the approach.
Upon arrival on stand, ground support staff found the forward cargo door swung open with the handle in its fully unlocked position. No luggage items had ejected from the cargo hold. No injuries were reported among the 105 passengers and 7 crew members.
The runway was inspected, and carcasses of several seagulls were recovered. Blood traces were observed along the lower fuselage, belly fairing, lower inboard wing surfaces, left-hand inboard flap, and left-hand main landing gear strut and door.
Examination of the forward cargo door revealed pronounced blood smear on the surface skin just aft of the handle flap, and blood inside the handle recess and door structure. There was no visible damage to the door.
Engine intake lips and cowlings showed no visible damage, but the inner liners had substantial blood smear. Tip curl deformation was observed on 9 fan blades of engine number 2 and 12 fan blades of engine number 1, which were out of operating limits and required replacement. Boroscopic inspection of both engines revealed no further damage.
A heavy-weight landing inspection was performed but found no damage to the aircraft.