A spectacular and dangerous bird strike involving a Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon was caught in a rare, high-resolution photo sequence during the Aire 25 air show in Spain last month. The incident occurred during a high-speed aerobatic maneuver as the jet performed for a crowd that included King Felipe VI.
Spanish aviation photographer Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero was in the spotter area when he captured the moment a Lesser Black-Backed Gull struck the right side of the Eurofighter’s canopy. In four dramatic images shared on his air_spotter7200 Instagram account, the bird is seen flying into the jet, followed by a burst of feathers, a piece of the shattered canopy falling away, and a close-up of the damaged glazing.
“I was quite surprised,” said Salguero, who used a Nikon 200-500mm lens. “We saw the jet leave without finishing the exhibition. Then we heard on the radio that it hit a seagull and broke the dome.” The Eurofighter, from the 11th Wing based in Morón, diverted to nearby San Javier Air Base, where Spanish Air Force specialists assessed the damage.
Bird strikes are a constant threat to aircraft, especially fast, low-flying fighter jets. Between 2007 and 2016, the U.S. Air Force and Navy averaged 5,600 bird strikes per year, causing $400 million in damage, according to the Pentagon’s BASH (Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard) program. Jets are particularly vulnerable during low-altitude maneuvers, where pilots have little time to react.
While this pilot landed safely, other bird strikes have been fatal. The 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River remains one of the most famous survivals.
Salguero’s photos, now widely circulated, have been praised for capturing such a rare moment. “I didn’t expect my photos would reach so many people,” he said. “I should have posted them earlier—but I didn’t have much time.”