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| Date: | Wednesday 14 May 2025 |
| Time: | 09:22 LT |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-232 |
| Owner/operator: | Qantas |
| Registration: | VH-UVK |
| MSN: | 2316 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2004 |
| Engine model: | IAE V2527-A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 99 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Newman Airport, WA (ZNE/YNWN) -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Newman Airport, WA (ZNE/YNWN) |
| Perth Airport, WA (PER/YPPH) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Qantas flight QF2971, an Airbus A320-232, was departing from Newman Airport, Western Australia carrying 93 passengers and 6 crew on a scheduled passenger transport flight to Perth. During take-off, as the aircraft reached rotation speed, the flight crew observed a large flock of galahs at the lower edge of the windshield and subsequently heard multiple impacts on the airframe. The crew observed a pitch change to the engine sound and identified increased vibration on the number 1 engine compared to engine number 2. No alert was presented on the electronic centralised aircraft monitor (ECAM) and the crew continued to climb to 6,000 ft. They then performed the after take‑off checks and noticed a reduction in the high-pitched noise and engine vibration when the reduction to climb thrust was selected. When the aircraft levelled at 6,000 ft the pitch returned to normal.
After discussion and suspecting engine damage from the birdstrike, the crew decided to return to Newman Airport as a precaution. Notification of the intended change in plan was communicated to the passengers, the operator and air traffic control (ATC). The crew conducted a briefing and acknowledged that if the ECAM system displayed any alerts during the approach they would ensure that all actions were completed by 1,000 ft. After discussion with ATC, a decision was made not to declare a PAN or request additional services and the aircraft landed safely.
A post-flight inspection of the aircraft found evidence of multiple strikes to the engine cowl and flap (Figure 1) but no damage to the airframe. The operator’s engineer identified that numerous birds had been ingested into both engines and had visibly caused minor damage resulting in the need for a more detailed inspection.
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
ATSB
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/vh-uvk#3a530a9b
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jun-2025 14:39 | ASN | Added |
| 21-Jun-2025 14:40 | ASN | Updated |
| 21-Jun-2025 14:41 | ASN | Updated [Embed code, ] |
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