Legazpi Airport back to normal operations after bird strike

MANILA, Philippines — Aircraft operations at the Legazpi Airport were momentarily disrupted early Sunday after a flock of birds was sucked into the engine of a landing commercial plane.

Rodante Joya, the deputy director general for operations of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said mechanics, who serviced Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J 321, took out around 40 dead sparrows from the engine.

Joya said that none of the 124 aircraft passengers was hurt in the bird strike.

A CAAP report stated that the bird strike happened around 6 a.m. as the aircraft, which came from Manila, touched down on the Legazpi Airport runway.

The CAAP official said that the aircraft flew through a flock of birds, which got sucked into the engine, covering it in blood and feathers.

Even then, pilot Froilan Aguado was able to safely land the plane and wait for mechanics to check on the aircraft.

The bird strike reduced the number of available aircraft parking slots, triggering a delay in the arrival of flights.

But Joya said Legazpi Airport operations was back to normal by noon.

The Legazpi Airport is a major airport in the Bicol region, which can accommodate medium-sized commercial jets and military aircraft. Based on CAAP data, the airport caters to around 400,000 passengers annually.

According to Joya, CAAP is set this year to procure more repellants to prevent bird strikes in the 41 commercial airports the agency oversees.

Among the country’s commercial airports only five — the Ninoy Aquino International Airport; the Clark International Airport; the Cebu-Mactan International Airport; the Subic International Airport; and the Poro Point International Airport — do not fall under CAAP authority.  SFM