A321 flight crew reported a loud bang" followed by a violent yaw motion during takeoff roll. Flight crew continued takeoff and climb and returned to departure airport where postflight inspection found evidence of possible birdstrike."
Synopsis
A321 flight crew reported a loud bang" followed by a violent yaw motion during takeoff roll. Flight crew continued takeoff and climb and returned to departure airport where postflight inspection found evidence of possible birdstrike."
Narrative
During takeoff roll; after the First Officer made the Rotate" call out; I observed two birds flying in front of our aircraft and close to the ground.Once I applied a pitch up input on the flight controls; I heard a loud "Bang" noise and a violent yaw motion to the right. I immediately applied left rudder and called out "Engine failure".The First Officer; Jumpseater; and myself all experienced the same feedback from the aircraft.After what appeared to be a transient compressor stall with auto-recovery; the engines were producing normal power. However; no ECAM or other abnormal indications were displayed during the event.Since the aircraft had a desirable climb performance; I decided to keep the gear and flap extended until the situation was better defined.I engaged the autopilot; leveled off and we [requested priority handling]. These actions were followed by a flight controls transfer to the First Officer.After further analyzing and discussing the uncertain nature of the present situation; I decided that a prudent safe decision would be to get the aircraft inspected at a suitable airport and discontinue our flight to ZZZ1. I computed the landing distance required and compared it to Runway XXR at ZZZ (XXXXX feet runway available). The runway available vs the runway required had and ample margin; and the weather at the airport was day VFR with light winds. Therefore; I decided to return back to ZZZ for landing.The current aircraft state; runway condition and length available compared to the runway required provided the safest option available at the time. Prolonging our return had the potential of exposing the aircraft to an undesired state and reduced safety margins.I followed QRH Overweight Landing checklist; notified ATC; the Company; our Flight Attendants; and passengers. We briefed the approach and proceeded to return to Runway XXR. I resumed flying duties and we landed safely. Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) was standing by the runway and we got escorted to the gate.Cause: Possible bird strike. Suggestions: I don't have any suggestions at this time."
Second reporter narrative
FLT XXXX was in the take-off roll with me serving as First Officer and Pilot Monitoring. Upon my 'V1' call; a loud bang was heard; causing the aircraft to yaw. The Captain promptly corrected the yaw with rudder input; and I called 'Rotate.' The aircraft began to climb under the Captain's control. As we ascended; we meticulously monitored the gauges for any signs of abnormalities in the engines; landing gear; and airframe. Detecting no irregularities; we continued our climb and leveled off to conduct further assessments.Despite not observing any abnormal readings; we opted to return to base out of an abundance of caution. This flight; scheduled for X hours; felt reminiscent of a V1 Cut emergency procedure. After [requesting priority handling]; ATC vectored us to a right downwind for an immediate landing. The Captain took the controls and executed a safe landing. Fire and rescue teams escorted us to the gate; where we shut down the aircraft and initiated a debrief.During the debrief; the Captain mentioned seeing two birds fly past the nose as we reached V1. A post-flight inspection revealed a small residue; indicative of wildlife impact; on the leading edge of Engine #1; with no signs of impact on Engine #2. We handed the aircraft over to maintenance and proceeded to the terminal for further assignment.Cause: I don't have any words for a causal factor other than the CA saw two birds fly by the nose as we were reaching V1.Suggestions: If it was a bird strike; then it's unpreventable as long as airplanes and birds share the same space in the sky.
More incidents for this aircraft family →
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.