Air NZ flight from Christchurch abandons take-off due to ‘ingested birds’

An Air New Zealand flight to Brisbane was aborted moments before take-off on Monday morning because of what the airline describes as “a suspected bird strike”. Flight NZ207 was scheduled to depart from Christchurch at 6:10am, but did not leave the airport as a result. A passenger on the flight who did not want his name published said the plane “apparently hit three to four birds” as it was about to take off. Heavy breaking followed along with “a lot of smoke and the smell of rubber”, he said. “The captain announced that we had ingested birds into two of the engines, resulting in damage to both engines damaging the turbine blades.” Air NZ chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said engineers are required to complete a full inspection of the aircraft after any suspected bird strike. As such, the flight has been cancelled, along with flight NZ272 from Brisbane to Wellington. Most affected passengers are expected to travel later in the day on alternative services, Morgan said. “While frustrating, bird strikes are not uncommon. Aircraft are designed with this in mind, and our pilots are fully trained for a bird strike scenario.” The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) reported that bird strikes tend to happen between 50 and 800 feet during the take-off and landing phases of a flight. The CAA says the responsibility of avoiding bird strikes “falls entirely on pilots”.<br/>