A plane departing from Madrid was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday shortly after take-off, following a collision with a vulture that caused significant damage.

A plane departing from Madrid was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday shortly after take-off, following a collision with a vulture that caused significant damage.

According to reports by Der Spiegel and Bild, the flight in question, IB579, took off at 4.05pm bound for Paris-Orly. Just minutes after departure, the aircraft collided with a large bird. The vulture reportedly struck the aircraft’s radome – the nose cone that houses the weather radar – and was then sucked into the left engine.

In response, the pilots decided to abort the flight. The aircraft, carrying 182 passengers, landed safely back at Madrid-Barajas Airport just 25 minutes later. Passengers disembarked using mobile stairways.

Bild also reported that Iberia was the first customer to receive the new long-haul Airbus A321 XLR, which was only delivered on 2 July this year. Although designed for transatlantic routes, the aircraft is currently being used on European routes while crews familiarise themselves with the new model.