The collision took place on Thursday, January 2, and was confirmed to Lusa agency by several aeronautical sources.

According to the same sources, the A320, bound for Lisbon, took off at 1:40 pm from João Paulo II Airport, but “immediately after take-off it declared an emergency due to the impact on a significant flock of seagulls”, and the aircraft continued to land safely, 18 minutes later, “reporting problems with both engines”.

Questioned by Lusa, the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF) says that it was notified of the “incident by the airport manager [ANA], the operator involved [SATA] and NAV Portugal”, the company responsible air traffic management.

This body adds that “it began a process of collecting information from the airport manager regarding the measures implemented and an application on the day, provided for in the regulations” that include reducing the risk of a bird strike.

The same aviation sources also warn of the fact that air traffic controllers are unable to see the entire Ponta Delgada runway, as the fire station that provides services at the airport was built in front of the control tower.

Air traffic controllers can only see the beginning and end of the runway, with the rest of it visible only through a CCTV system which, according to these sources, does not allow air traffic controllers to adequately observe the possible presence of birds, “which significantly reduced the safety of the operation”.

Asked about this situation, the GPIAAF highlights that “the process of detecting, controlling and mitigating wildlife risks at aerodromes is provided by several sources of information in which the ATC [air traffic controller] is an important part”.

“Indeed, the asphalt area where the collision with the birds occurred is not visible from the tower. The circumstances of the event as well as the mitigation measures in force in the infrastructure at the time of the occurrence will be disclosed in due course by the GPIAAF in a document appropriate to the sequence resulting from the ongoing assessment within the scope of this office's responsibilities”, says the body.

Lusa questioned ANA, the airport manager, and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), sector regulator, about the security plan, the fire station built in front of the control tower and what measures are currently being implemented at Ponta Delgada Airport to mitigate the risk of Bird strike, but, so far, there has been no response.