A Cessna Citation 500 had just taken off from Copenhagen, Roskilde (Denmark) with Merville Callone (France) as its destination for this ferry flight.
The damaged wing, the tape was installed as a temporary fix to stop the fuel leak. (source Havarikommissionen)
The take-off was uneventful, with a positive rate of climb, the gear was retracted and the climb attitude of ~14º nose up was established. Just before reaching 400 feet AGL (Above Ground Level) the crew observed something white in front of the aircraft. The commander of the aircraft immediately initiated an increase in pitch attitude, however, at the same time a loud bang was heard coming from the belly of the aircraft, and a bump was felt through the airframe.
A flok of large white birds (swans) was observed below the flight path. The crew realised they had at least one and possibly more birdstrikes. In case the flap system was damaged, the crew decided to leave the flaps at the take-off setting of 15º. In absence of any cautions and warnings, the crew carefully checked the handling and controllability of the aircraft and did not find anything abnormal.
ATC was informed and a return to Roskilde airport was initiated. A visual approach was flown followed by a normal landing and roll-out. At the end of the runway, the Airport Fire and Rescue Service inspected the aircraft. They found fuel leaking from the left-wing, when this was reported to the flight crew they immediately shut down the aircraft and evacuated the aircraft. The leak was stopped on-site by a temporary repair and the aircraft was towed to a maintenance facility to have the fuel drained from the wing.
Wing repair in progress (source Havarikommissionen)
The aircraft was inspected by maintenance staff and the Havarikommissionen (Accident Investigation Board Denmark) was informed. The aircraft had been hit by multiple birds and suffered considerable damage;
Left-wing leading edge and lower surface - requiring repair of skin and front stringers, the wing main spar was undamaged.
Radome righthand lower side - the radome was replaced
There were also traces of blood found on the left-hand engine inlet and in the left-hand engine fan duct. Both engines were boroscoped, without damage being found.
The damaged radome (source Havarikommissionen)
The full report by the source Havarikommissionen is available by clicking here. After repairs were completed the aircraft returned tp service.
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