Vulture refuses to budge from Ryanair plane on Crete island

Athens, Aug 17 - A vulture that refused to budge from a Ryanair plane's wing on the Greek island of Crete required removal to prevent potential damage, according to Patris daily. The incident occurred late yesterday at Iraklio airport, where the fire service was called to handle the situation. Pictures showed the bird safely inside a firefighter's fireproof jacket.

The source did not specify the flight's destination. Local sources also displayed an image of the vulture perched on the plane's tail wing, before it was placed in a wooden box and sent to the island's natural history museum for care. Birds often find themselves sucked into aircraft engines, leading to serious accidents. The US National Transportation Safety Board reported last week that bird remains were found in the engine of a Ryanair plane during a flight from Greece to Germany on July 10, causing a blade to break off, a cabin window to shatter, and a passenger to be partially sucked out.

Four bird strikes to the plane's engines had been reported by flight crews in the previous 12 months, but no damage was found in subsequent maintenance, the report added.