Today, a Boeing 777 cargo of Turkish Airlines hit a herd of birds during the takeoff in Istanbul, Turkey. The plane was on its way to Almaty, Kazakhstan, when the incident happened.
Damage to the front
According to Aviation24.be, the aircraft involved in the incident had registration TC-LJN and was operating flight TK6220, which was a cargo service. After the strike, the crew entered a holding pattern and returned to the departure airport. Photos of the plane after the event show visible damage to the nose cone.
Turkish Airlines flights # TK6471, a Boeing 777-F, hit a herd of birds as they approached Istanbul-Ataturk Airport, Turkey. https://t.co/kmAUJbzLMn https://t.co/8GmW3XK8By
– Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 3, 2021
Airline Haber adds that the captain contacted the Atatürk airport control tower to request permission for emergency landing. The plane circled through the air to unload fuel. After the discharge, the plane sank to the ground. It was then removed from the operation and moved to a hangar for maintenance.
This initial flight departs from Istanbul at 08:48 before landing back at 09:35. The flight then took off again at 12:27 to land at Almaty at 20:03. All times are local. According to FlightRadar24.com, this second attempt was made by TC-LJL.
A focus on cargo
These two aircraft join 39 other 777s in Turkish Airlines’ fleet. In addition, Turkey’s flag carrier currently owns eight units of the cargo variant. Planespotters.net emphasizes that TC-LJN, the aircraft that suffered the damage, joined the operator in September 2018, fresh from Boeing’s facilities in Everett, Washington. TC-LJL is a little older than his brother or sister and was delivered to the airline in November 2017.
Turkish shipping operations have become a more integral role in the company amid the slump in passenger activity due to the pandemic and the subsequent increase in shipping needs. Last summer it was revealed that Turkish Cargo handles 5% of the market and that it is interested in new systems to grow its services in the new climate.
Challenging situations
Bird strikes are a common but striking occurrence. Just this morning we reported that another Boeing 777 experienced a bird strike when it landed in Lagos, Nigeria last week. There was also significant damage from this event.
All in all, Turkish Airlines handled the situation of today and managed to keep their services going despite the frustrating situation. Fortunately, there were no injuries to anyone following the event. Nevertheless, Turks wants to keep its cargo planes in good condition amid the important role they currently play in the current circumstances.
Simple Flying reached out to Turkish Airlines for comment on what happened during this Boeing 777F flight. We will update the article with any further announcements from the carrier.
What are your thoughts on what happened to this Turkish Airlines Boeing 777F? Have you experienced anything similar when you flew over the years? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comments section.