Description

On 26 September 2011, a Boeing 757-200 being operated by United Airlines on a scheduled passenger flight from Chicago to Denver experienced a left engine bird strike during deceleration after landing on runway 35R at destination in normal day visibility. The affected engine ran down as the aircraft cleared the runway and was shut down after a report of smoke being emitted from it. The aircraft was stopped and the remaining engine also shut down prior to a tow to the assigned terminal gate for passenger disembarkation. None of the 185 occupants were injured but the affected engine was severely damaged and there was visible evidence that some debris from it had impacted the aircraft fuselage.

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the National Transportation Safety Board (USA) (NTSB). The flight crew reported that after initial touchdown and the application of full reverse thrust, two hawks had been seen on the centreline of runway 35R and soon afterwards impacts had been felt on the fuselage followed by a ‘hot’ odour in the flight deck. Shortly after clearing the runway, an indication of low left hand engine oil pressure had occurred.

An intact bird subsequently identified as a juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk and the remains of a second bird of the same species were recovered from the runway. The remains of the second bird, along with remains collected from the No. 1 engine, were eventually identified as coming from a female Red-Tailed Hawk. It was noted that the approximate live weight range for this species is 0.7kg to 1.5kg with the female larger in size.