ENGINES ON a Ryanair jet which was severely damaged after a birdstrike at Rome’s Ciampino airport last November are being examined this week at the UK base of their manufacturer, CFM International.
It coincides with a similar inquiry into the engines of the aircraft which ditched in New York’s Hudson river last month, also following a bird-strike. All passengers and crew survived both incidents.
Although the Hudson river aircraft was an Airbus and the Ryanair jet a Boeing, the investigations are linked in that both aircraft had the same CFM-56 engines. Although it is not uncommon for an engine to be disabled following a birdstrike, it is rare for all engines to suffer simultaneous loss of power as happened in both incidents.
Investigators want to know why there was a sudden loss of power in the Ryanair aircraft’s engines shortly after dozens of starlings were sucked in shortly before landing and if the type of engine had any bearing on the outcome. Similar questions are being asked about the Airbus, which lost all power after ingesting birds in the Hudson river accident.
The Ryanair inquiry is being conducted by Italian crash investigators from the Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo which is looking to see if there is "any commonality" between the two accidents, according to a report in Air Transport Intelligence News.