A Lufthansa Airbus A330 flew back to Frankfurt last week after being grounded in Abuja (Nigeria) for two weeks due to a collision with an animal.
The aircraft, registration D-AIKS, landed in Abuja late in the evening on October 31 from Port Harcourt, a city in southern Nigeria. Lufthansa combines its flight from Frankfurt to Port Harcourt via Abuja and vice versa several times a week. The return flight, LH595, was scheduled to depart in a southwesterly direction at 11:05 p.m. As the machine pulled away, a wild animal crossed over. During the collision, the A330 reached a speed of approximately 185 kilometers per hour. Then the pilots broke the take-off and left the runway. The machine then taxied to the platform where the passengers disembarked. No one was injured. The flight was cancelled.
Major damage to A330
One of the two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines was damaged in the collision. The damage was according to AV Herald of such a nature that the entire engine had to be replaced. In addition, the front of the aircraft, where the speedometers and weather radar are located, was damaged, as well as the flaps. The radome therefore had to be replaced. The A330 was grounded in Abuja for approximately two weeks after the incident. That came according to Paddle Your Own Canoe because technicians at the Nigerian airport do not have full maintenance expertise. Lufthansa therefore had to send a team of technicians to Abuja to repair the aircraft. The A330 was ready for use last Wednesday. The machine left for Frankfurt but has not been operational since.
