Today, a Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 freighter hit a flock of birds during takeoff in Istanbul, Turkey. The plane was going to Almaty, Kazakhstan, when the incident happened.
Damage in the front
According to Aviation24.be, the aircraft involved in the accident has the registration TC-LJN and was operating flight TK6220, which was a cargo service. After the strike, the crew entered a waiting pattern and returned to the departure airport. Photos of the aircraft after the event show visible damage to the nose cone.
Turkish Airlines flight # TK6471, a Boeing 777-F, hit a flock of birds as it approached Istanbul-Atatürk Airport in Turkey 🇹🇷. https://t.co/kmAUJbzLMn https://t.co/8GmW3XK8By
– Aviation Security Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 3, 2021
Haber airline adds that the captain has contacted the Air Traffic Control Tower at Atatürk Airport to request an emergency landing permit. The plane circled through the air to discharge fuel. After unloading, the plane descended to the ground. It was subsequently removed from operation and transferred to a hangar for maintenance.
This initial flight left Istanbul at 08:48 before landing back at 09:35. The flight then took off again at 12:27 pm to land in Almaty at 8:03 pm. All times are local. According to FlightRadar24.com, this second attempt was conducted by TC-LJL.
Focus on the load
These two jets join another 39 777s in the Turkish Airlines fleet. In addition, the Turkish flag bearer currently owns eight units of the freighter variant. Planespotters.net points out that TC-LJN, the aircraft that suffered the damage, joined the operator in September 2018, just leaving Boeing’s facilities in Everett, Washington. The TC-LJL is slightly older than its brother, having been delivered to the airline by its manufacturer in November 2017.
Turkey’s maritime transport operations have become more integrated into the company amid the slowdown in passenger activity due to the pandemic and the subsequent increase in transport needs. Last summer, it was revealed that Turkish Cargo was controlling 5% of the market and it became interested in new systems to keep its services growing in the new climate.
Challenging situations
Bird strikes are common but impactful occurrences. Just this morning, we reported that another Boeing 777 suffered a bird strike while landing in Lagos, Nigeria, last week. There was also notable damage from this occurrence.
Altogether, Turkish Airlines dealt with today’s situation and managed to keep its services running despite the frustrating situation. Fortunately, there were no injuries to anyone after the event. However, Turkey will make sure to keep its cargo aircraft in good condition amid the important role they currently play in current conditions.
Simple Flying contacted Turkish Airlines to comment on what happened during the Boeing 777F flight. We will update the article with any other carrier announcements.
What do you think of what happened to this Boeing 777F from Turkish Airlines? Have you experienced anything similar to flying over the years? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comments section.