Tuesday, March 25, 2025
A United Airlines Airbus A320 safely landed at Santa Barbara Airport after ingesting 15 birds during descent, with no injuries reported among passengers or crew.
A United Airlines Airbus A320 made a successful landing at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) on March 22, 2025, after its engine reportedly ingested 15 small birds during the descent.
Incident Overview
The aircraft, an Airbus A320-200 with the registration N457UA, was operating flight UA 671 from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA). The bird ingestion occurred during the landing phase. Fortunately, the flight, which had 150 passengers and six crew members onboard, landed without further incident.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the details of the event to The Aviation Herald. The aircraft involved is 25.3 years old and has an extensive flying history. According to data from ch-aviation fleets, the Airbus A320-200 can accommodate up to 150 passengers across three cabin classes: 12 in business class, 42 in economy plus, and 96 in economy class. By the end of 2024, the plane had accumulated a total of 75,232 flight hours and 32,344 flight cycles.
The Airbus A320 had already been on multiple flights on the day of the incident. Prior to the bird strike event, it operated a route from Santa Ana John Wayne Airport (SNA) to Denver International Airport (DEN), according to Flightradar24.
This incident follows a similar bird strike event involving another United Airlines A320-200 earlier in March 2025 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). After taking off from Runway 29R, the crew reported a potential bird strike and requested to stop climbing at 5,000 feet. The aircraft, carrying 129 passengers and five crew members, returned to O’Hare, where it landed safely approximately 20 minutes after departure.
The Safety Risks of Bird Strikes
Bird strikes, though uncommon, can present serious safety hazards, such as engine failure, structural damage, or even catastrophic accidents. One of the most notable bird strike incidents in history is US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing in the Hudson River after a bird strike shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport in 2009. Although five people were injured, there were no fatalities.
Aviation safety authorities and airports implement various bird control measures, such as wildlife management, radar tracking, and habitat modifications, to reduce the risk of such strikes. Pilots are also trained to manage bird strike scenarios, including how to respond to engine failure. Flight simulators allow pilots to practice handling these situations.
If a bird strike occurs during takeoff before the aircraft reaches the decision speed (V1), pilots may abort the takeoff if it’s unsafe to continue. However, if the strike happens after V1, the aircraft must continue the takeoff and assess the situation before making any further decisions.
Modern aircraft are built to endure bird strikes without catastrophic failure. When a strike occurs during landing, pilots typically proceed with the landing unless the damage is significant enough to warrant a go-around. Following landing, the plane undergoes a damage inspection before being cleared for further flight, as in the case of the United Airlines Airbus A320 after its recent bird strike.
