A packed airplane was forced to make an emergency landing after two swans smashed into it and punctured the fuselage, according to a report.
The Boeing 737 Max, operated by TUI, was en route to Africa from London on Wednesday when the birds hit it just moments after takeoff — causing critical damage at around 1,000 feet, the Sun reported.
The pilots made a mayday distress call and completed an emergency landing at London’s Heathrow airport with all 192 passengers onboard, according to the report.
Photos showed the windshield smeared with blood, leaving the jet needing an escort from the runway.
“Bird strikes are not uncommon at UK airports but this was on a scale of terror never seen before,” the source told the outlet.
“It is believed at least two giant swans careered into the jet as it reached high speed. The sheer size of the birds, and the double strike, penetrated the jet’s forward fuselage,” the source said.
“The strike breached the pressure bulkhead so the pilots couldn’t pressurize the plane,” the source added.
“It was carnage and the safety of the plane was in doubt. The pilots did a terrific job in the most testing of circumstances.”
A passenger aboard the TUI flight wrote a heartfelt post thanking the pilots for landing their flight safely and noted TUI quickly organized a second flight to their destination.
“A big shot out to the pilots of our aborted TUI flight from Gatwick to Sal yesterday. Our plane was hit by 2 swans on take off damaging the fuselage and breaking the navigation system,” Cathy Thomson wrote in a Facebook post
“Despite also not being able to see properly out the windshield, the pilots circled the plane for an hour, then performed a perfect emergency landing back at Gatwick.
“Now safely tucked up in bed it dawns on me, not only how lucky we were, but how truly amazing our pilots were. So thank you for keeping us safe whoever you are,” she said.
The swan collision occurred at around 1,000 feet, the outlet said.
Emergency services were called after the incident to check for debris, though no one was claimed to be injured, according to the report.
The plane endured the brunt of the hit and will be grounded for weeks to repair over $1 million in damage, the outlet said.
