An Iberia flight was forced to make an emergency landing after striking a bird and causing serious damage to the aircraft’s nose.
The flight, which was headed to Paris-Orly, returned to Madrid-Barajas airport immediately following the mid-air incident.
The nose is a crucial area housing key electronics like the weather radar, and its damage triggered smoke to flood the cabin, spreading panic among passengers.
Traveller Giancarlo Sandoval shared a video on X showing himself bent over and breathing through his oxygen mask.
He told the television programme Todo es Mentira: ‘It was painful to breathe. I was barely breathing, and my nose, throat, and eyes hurt. People started banging on the ceiling to remove their masks.’
The drama unfolded around 6.30pm on Sunday, when flight IB579 was issued an alert to air traffic control.
The collision had reportedly pierced the aircraft’s fuselage and impacted the left engine, triggering a power loss and suspected engine damage.
‘It caused damage to the plane’s fuselage. This damage penetrated the left engine, causing a loss of power and even severe engine damage,’ explained Angel Gonzalez Sanchez, deputy director of SEPLA’s technical department.
The flight was granted top-priority landing clearance and diverted to runway 32L, where airport rescue teams were already in position.
Iberia moved quickly, scheduling a recovery flight to Paris later that evening at 8pm.
‘There were people I heard didn’t want to get on the second flight,’ Sandoval added. Though Iberia swiftly transferred the shaken group to another aircraft, nerves remained raw.
