Stubborn vulture plucked from plane’s wing before Greece flight
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A vulture had to be removed by firefighters from the wing of a plane awaiting take-off on the Greek island of Crete.
PHOTO: AFP
ATHENS – A vulture that refused to budge had to be removed from the wing of a flight awaiting take-off on the Greek island of Crete to avoid potential damage to the plane, a local newspaper reported on Aug 17.
The Patris daily said the incident occurred late on Aug 16 at the island’s Iraklio airport, when the fire service was called in to remove the large scavenger.
It pictured the bird tucked inside a jacket held by a firefighter. The report did not specify where the flight was headed.
Other local sites showed a picture of the vulture landing on the plane’s tail wing.
It was later placed in a wooden box and delivered to the island’s natural history museum for care.
Birds are routinely sucked into aircraft engines, occasionally causing serious accidents.
Last week, the US National Transportation Safety Board said bird remains were found in the engine of a Ryanair plane that saw a blade break off on July 10, shattering a cabin window and partially sucking a passenger outside.
Four suspected bird strikes to the plane’s engine were reported by flight crews in the 12 months preceding the accident, but no damage was found in subsequent maintenance, the report said. AFP
