The Airbus A321-231 HA-LTI operated by Wizz Air has been parked in Vienna-Schwechat unable to fly for a few days. The background is that this machine suffered a bird strike on March 14, 2022 on flight W62881 (Vienna-Tirana). The right engine was severely damaged.

According to Wizz Air, the HA-LTI suffered a bird strike during take-off in Vienna. “That is the cause of the engine failure. That's why technicians were on the machine on Friday and replaced the engine. The plane is still in Vienna as the complex engine swap is ongoing,” a spokeswoman told Aviation.Direct.

The return landing, which was necessary due to the engine failure caused by the bird strike, was carried out safely on March 14, 2022. The passengers were then taken to their destination Tirana on another plane.

Bird strikes occur again and again in aviation and are considered particularly annoying by airlines, because in many cases the engine is so badly damaged that a replacement engine has to be installed. This is very expensive and the costs for assembly and the necessary service life are not even taken into account. A connecting flight to Tirana would not have been an option for safety reasons.