A Boeing 757-200 belonging to budget carrier Jet2 suffered a bird strike today, August 10th. The aircraft had just taken off from Manchester Airport when the incident occurred. The crew then made the decision to return to Manchester but needed to burn excess fuel before landing.
Jet2’s 757 bird strike
According to a Twitter post by AerohubNews (see below), a Boeing 757-200 belonging to Jet2 suffered a bird strike just after take-off at 14:58 local time. Reports indicate that the strike occurred with the aircraft’s right engine after departure from Manchester’s Runway 05L.
*INCIDENT* Jet2 G-LSAN (B752) has suffered a bird strike in its right engine upon departure from Manchester’s Runway 05L. The aircraft is holding nearby to burn excess fuel before returning. Extent of the damage is at present unknown pic.twitter.com/Qf5ONRu3Rh
— AerohubNews (@AerohubNews) August 10, 2020
With a flight time of just under half an hour, the aircraft landed back at Manchester Airport safely at 15:25 local time.
Aircraft details and background
The aircraft was a Boeing 757-200 registered as G-LSAN and is powered by two Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. According to Airfleets.net, G-LSAN is a 26.4-year-old aircraft configured in an all-economy layout to accommodate 235 passengers.
The aircraft has had a diverse history flying with numerous airlines. Its first operator was actually Transavia back in 1994. After that, it flew for multiple small airlines as well as Avianca, before joining Jet2.