A Brussels Airlines Airbus A319 registered OO-SSA operating flight SN3594 to Brussels Airport aborted takeoff from Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport after experiencing a bird strike.
At 126 knots, the aircraft speed was close to V1 (the speed above which the takeoff will continue even if an engine fails or another problem occurs) on runway 17R when the bird hit the engine. The pilots were able to abort the takeoff and return to the gate.
The flight was cancelled and the passengers were rebooked on another flight (SN3588) leaving Lyon four hours later. This aircraft (A319 registered OO-SSW) also had a bird strike (in the nose gear) on the flight from Brussels. But it was checked and found OK by technicians who were sent from Brussels to check OO-SSA.
The Airbus is scheduled to return to Brussels Airport for a thorough inspection as a ferry flight SN9904 departing at 15:00. The following scheduled flight for that aircraft, SN2623 to Hamburg, is also cancelled.
