A Paris-bound Iberia flight was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff on Sunday following a bird hit, according to a report in The New York Post.
The impact of the collision was such
that the aircraft’s nose was severely damaged. Fortunately, no injuries to passengers and crew were reported in the incident.
However, soon after the bird struck the aircraft, panic spread among flyers due to the smoke that enveloped the flight, prompting them to cover their faces with oxygen mask until the situation improved.
Flight IB-579 had taken off from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid and was approximately 20 minutes into the journey when the incident occurred, the New York Post reported.
Dramatic video showing people on board the plane panicking has surfaced on social media.
The footage shows smoke inside the cabin and a passenger gripping an oxygen mask tightly. In the background, panicked voices and a crying baby can be heard as passengers struggle to understand the situation.
Passengers in all out PANIC after a bird SMASHES into the nose of a plane headed for Paris
Cabin FILLED with smoke, forcing people into GASMASKS
The Airbus was forced to turn around after just 20 minutes in the air pic.twitter.com/j1EH2hfLKE
— RT (@RT_com) August 6, 2025
While speaking to New York Post, a passenger, Giancarlo Sandoval, said, “We thought that it was the turbulence that the captain was talking about, but then we started hearing a noise… and we were like, okay, something’s going on.”
The report further suggests that the aircraft’s nose cone was crushed, with a large hole gaping in the front section of the plane.
According to Sandoval, the panic escalated quickly. Sandoval further said, “It was like a domino effect from the back, where the smoke was coming from. People started pulling out their oxygen masks in panic.”
While reacting to the video on X, a user commented, “I had no idea a bird could wipe out an aeroplane.”
Another commented, “That’s not a bird that was tampered with.” “Birds aren’t real, drone impact,” wrote the next.
Later, Iberia issued a statement regarding the incident and praised the actions of the crew, saying, “The entire flight crew, including pilots and cabin crew, acted with the utmost professionalism in managing the situation and attending to the passengers.”
Last month, a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight with around 175 passengers was forced to return to Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna after one of its engines developed a technical snag due to a bird hit.
