What happened
On January 23, 2025, at approximately 12:30 UTC, an Airbus A320-232, registered as CC-AWC, was performing a scheduled commercial flight from Malvinas Argentinas International Airport in Ushuaia to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires. During the takeoff roll on runway 07, the crew observed two birds crossing the path of the engines at a speed of approximately 100 knots. Shortly after, the crew felt an impact and noted a change in the sound of the left engine. Following the ingestion of the birds, the flight crew decided to abort the takeoff before reaching V1 speed and returned the aircraft to its parking position.
The investigation
The investigation, conducted as a desk inquiry, examined the sequence of events and the subsequent maintenance actions. Records indicated that a maneuver to disperse rheas had been performed on the runway 28 minutes prior to the takeoff attempt. Following the incident, airport personnel inspected the runway but found no remaining bird debris. A technical inspection of the aircraft revealed that the left engine had sustained damage. Specifically, maintenance crews identified damage to fan blades 11 and 12 that exceeded allowable tolerances, along with additional damage to the engine cowling.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a bird strike involving the ingestion of two birds into the left engine.
- The aircraft sustained minor damage, including non-tolerable damage to two fan blades and the engine nacelle.
- The flight crew successfully executed an aborted takeoff procedure in response to the engine anomaly.