Packed Lufthansa passenger jet smashes into massive VULTURE moments before landing
The bizarre incident occurred at 5,000 feet when Flight 1821 operated by Lufthansa struck the bird
A PLANE was forced to make an emergency landing after it ended up with a massive vulture stuck in its nose.
The jet was flying from Munich in Germany to the Spanish city of Palma but the return flight had to be cancelled after the bird, identified as a cinereous vulture, crashed into the aircraft.
The bizarre incident occurred at 5,000 feet when Flight 1821 operated by Lufthansa struck the bird.
After setting off from Munich the aircraft about to land at the airport near the city of Palma, in the eastern Spanish region of the Balearic Islands, when the bird struck at midday.
The bird was reportedly a black vulture with a wingspan of whopping nine feet.
Shocking images show the bird wedged into the nose of the aircraft as it sits on the tarmac of the Spanish Airport.
The captain of the plane had no chance to avoid the collision but fortunately the crash with the vulture, a protected species, only affected the nose of the plane and did not cause a depressurisation.
Son Sant Joan airport in Palma was then notified of the incident.
The Airbus A320 landed without difficulty despite the fact photographs show the bird was so big it embedded itself in the plane’s fuselage.
Lufthansa's return flight to Bavaria was cancelled, and passengers put on other flights.
The foundation of Voltor Negre (Black Vulture), a vulture conservation organisation, regretted the incident and warned about the risk of more incidents like this caused by younger animals who are learning to fly and starting to test their wings.
Lufthansa confirmed the incident in a statement saying the flight "suffered a bird strike while approaching the airport of Palma de Mallorca".
It added: "Due to the damage, the aircraft needed to remain on Thursday in Palma and was been checked by our technicians.
"The return flight had to be cancelled and passengers have been rebooked on alternative services."
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