Airline claims damages from airport with birds

A Russian airline Uralskie Avialinii started legal proceedings in order to establish how a certain bird got into the sky above the airport of Irkutsk.

An accident resulting in an emergency landing occurred a few days ago. A passenger aircraft Tu-154 hit a bird while maneuvering before the landing. As a result, a cockpit enclosure of the aircraft was broken down and the skin on its hull was damaged. The crew managed to land the plane safely despite the emergency. The aircraft was carrying 74 passengers plus a crew of 8.

The plane had to be repaired and the last leg of flight to Khabarovsk was delayed for 8 hours.

Uralskie Avialinii believes the airport authorities should be held responsible for the emergency. An ornithological service on the payroll of the airport should take measures to prevent such accidents, said a spokesperson for the airliner.

A similar accident took place in France. The French court ruled in February 2005 that the government should pay damages to the victims of the accident caused by a hedgehog. The government eventually paid 3 millions euros in damages.

The accident occurred on March 22nd, 1998, on a runway of the airport of Marseilles. A dead hedgehog was lying on the runway and a flock of seagulls was circling above. An Air France Airbus A320 was taxiing on the runway at the time. The seagulls were sucked into the plane's turbine. The plane could not take off and rolled out of the runaway limits. A few dozen people were injured in the accident.

The court ruled that the government should pay damages since the airport in Marseilles was a state-run facility.