It has emerged that a LATAM Airlines bound for Santiago had to return to it’s departure field of Asuncion due to a bird strike.
Information has been released pertinent to this incident, which we will cover in this article.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Bird Strike!: LATAM Airlines Flight LA1324 – Asuncion to Santiago…
LATAM Airlines Brasil flight LA1324, which suffered the bird strike, is a routine scheduled flight between Asuncion and Santiago.
Furthermore, it is understood the aircraft involved in the incident was PR-MBH.
As per data from Planespotters.net, PR-MBH is a 17.9 year old Airbus A320 that started out life with TAM Linhas Aereas in October 2006.
Following the merger with LAN to become LATAM Airlines, the aircraft was transferred to that registry instead in May 2016.
Of the Airbus A320ceo variant, the Brasil side of the carrier has 57 of them in their fleet.
Moreover, of that 57, all but one are in active service, with an average fleet age of 13.6 years.
LATAM Airlines flight LA1324 departed Asuncion at 1055 local time on July 23, bound for Santiago.
As per The Aviation Herald, it is understood the flight suffered a bird strike into an engine not long after departure.
From there, the aircraft entered a series of holds to burn off fuel and to shut the engine down.
After a while, at 1200 local time, the aircraft landed safely without further incident.
Aircraft Grounded For A While…
Data from RadarBox states that the LATAM Airlines Airbus A320 involved in the bird strike on the Asuncion-Santiago flight is still grounded at the time of writing (26/7/24 @ 1905 UK time).
Furthermore, the extent of the damage following the bird strike is unclear, with no imagery available.
All eyes will be on what the extent of the damage is, as well as how long it takes to repair.
No timeline has been given for it’s return into commercial service following this intense incident.
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