A plane crashed into a large bird and forced an emergency landing at Barajas Airport.
The animal caused visible damage to the front of the plane, which had taken off towards Paris.
An Iberia flight operating between Madrid and Paris was forced to make an emergency landing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport on Sunday afternoon following the impact of a large bird just minutes after takeoff. Both the passengers and crew of flight IB579 were unharmed, according to company and air traffic control sources.
According to a statement from the company, the captain requested authorization to return to the airport of origin—in accordance with the safety protocols established for these situations—where the aircraft landed safely. "The entire flight crew, pilots and cabin crew, acted with the utmost professionalism to resolve the situation and assist the passengers," the statement states.
The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. when the crew of flight IB579 bound for Paris's Orly Airport reported to air traffic control that they had struck a bird, which had caused visible damage to the plane's frontal area, as shown by images shared on social media. This area houses critical electronic components, such as the weather radar.
Following the alert, air safety protocol was activated. The flight was given absolute priority for landing and was directed to runway 32L, where the airport's emergency services were already deployed. The landing proceeded without major incident, and firefighters inspected the aircraft. In the statement, Iberia also explained that "to ensure the continuity of the trip for affected passengers," the company scheduled a recovery flight, IB0041, which took off from Madrid to Paris-Orly at 8:00 p.m.