London - Dented and blood-spattered, this is the damage caused to an aeroplane that struck a bird while landing at Heathrow Airport.
The EgyptAir jet was approaching the runway with 71 passengers on board when the bird flew across its path.
Despite the impact – which left blood and feathers smeared across the heavily dented nose cone – the plane managed to land safely after its five-hour flight from Cairo on Friday.
However the Boeing 737 was grounded for 21 hours before making the return trip, to allow time for repairs.
Amir Hashim, a procurement specialist for EgyptAir, wrote on Facebook on Saturday: “Yesterday evening’s arrival suffered a bird strike on approach.
"Bird collision destroys nose of EgyptAir passenger jet landing at Heathrow Airport” https://t.co/avhnPyep2H #splat pic.twitter.com/0Us3z8T4yy
— Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) March 14, 2016
“The damage is clear and [the plane] will be grounded until a new radome is fitted. Now, who has a spare?”
Daily Mail