Iberia confirms ‘large bird’ damaged newest Airbus A321XLR during flight
An Iberia Airbus A321XLR that was delivered to the airline just over a month ago was damaged during a flight to Paris Orly Airport (ORY) when the aircraft struck a large bird.
The airline’s newest, and fourth, A321XLR, left Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) on August 3, 2025, shortly after 18:40 local time, and was in the air for around five minutes before it appeared to divert back to the airport.
Iberia confirmed to AeroTime in a statement that a few minutes after taking off, flight IB579 hit a “large bird on the front section of the aircraft and on one of its engines”.
Photos of the damaged Airbus A321XLR have been shared on social media showing a badly damaged radome.
“In accordance with the established safety protocols for such situations, the captain requested authorization to return to the departure airport, where the aircraft landed safely. The entire flight crew, including pilots and cabin crew, acted with the utmost professionalism to manage the situation and care for the passengers,” a spokesperson for the airline told AeroTime.
#IncidenteAéreo hoy de un #Airbus #A321 – 253NY XLR (EC-OOJ) de #Iberia, vuelo #IB579. Sufrió grave impacto de pájaro en despegue desde Aeropuerto #Madrid #Barajas Adolfo Suárez (MAD), #España . Retornó a MAD con total seguridad. Daños materiales notables. Sin heridos. 03-08-25 pic.twitter.com/Ul7SJP0xt8— Iván Castro Palacios (@ivancp25) August 3, 2025 After landing in Madrid just after 17:00 an alternate flight was arranged for affected passengers which departed shortly after 19:30.
The incident will come as bitter disappointment for Iberia as it awaits the full delivery of its eight Airbus A321XLRs.
Iberia took delivery of the world’s first commercial ready Airbus A321XLR in October 2024, in major scoop for the airline.
The brand-new aircraft, registered EC-OIL, took off on its first revenue flight on November 6, 2024.
According to flightradar24, the damaged A321XLR had already flown to Paris, Zurich and Boston in the last week. Iberia did not confirm how long it expects the aircraft to be grounded.
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The post Iberia confirms ‘large bird’ damaged newest Airbus A321XLR during flight appeared first on AeroTime.
An Iberia Airbus A321XLR that was delivered to the airline just over a month ago was damaged during…
The post Iberia confirms ‘large bird’ damaged newest Airbus A321XLR during flight appeared first on AeroTime.
