You’re going to hear about an incident at a European airport involving an aircraft just after takeoff. Listen carefully for what happened, what the crew did about it, and how the situation ended.
Flight 728, an Airbus A320 with 152 passengers and 6 crew, was on a scheduled flight from Porto, Portugal, to Geneva, Switzerland. The aircraft departed runway 17 at Porto Airport at 06:48 local time on a clear morning.
About 30 seconds after takeoff, climbing through 600 feet, the aircraft flew through a flock of geese. The crew reported hearing several loud impacts. Shortly afterwards, the right engine began to vibrate and lose thrust. Engine instruments showed a compressor stall caused by birds being ingested into the engine.
The captain reduced power on the right engine to control the vibration and declared a Pan-Pan urgency call to air traffic control. The crew advised Porto tower that they would not continue to Geneva and requested an immediate return for landing.
The aircraft levelled at 3,000 feet and turned back towards the airport. Cabin crew prepared passengers for a possible emergency landing. The flight remained controllable on the left engine alone.
Eight minutes after takeoff, the aircraft landed safely on runway 17. Airport fire services met the aircraft on the runway as a precaution, but no fire was found. The passengers left the aircraft by stairs and were taken to the terminal by bus. No injuries were reported on board.
Later examination of the right engine found damage to several fan blades. The aircraft was withdrawn from service for repair. Three geese were recovered from the runway and the engine.
Speaking practice
You are the captain of the aircraft. The passengers are now off the aircraft and waiting in the terminal. A journalist from a local news website asks you what happened. Without saying anything you are not sure about, give a 30-second statement explaining the incident.
Record yourself on a phone voice memo so you can play it back and self-review. There’s no single right answer — the goal is to produce a clear, structured response under time pressure.
Level: CEFR B1–B2 / ICAO Level 4–5
For one of aviation’s most famous bird-strike outcomes, watch our video on the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ landing, when both A320 engines ingested geese on departure from LaGuardia and Captain Sullenberger landed in the river.
