A Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Cape Town, South Africa, was affected by a bird strike incident upon arrival, the airline said.
In a statement on May 9, 2026, the national carrier said the aircraft landed safely at Cape Town International Airport at approximately 1:55 pm EAT.
“Following a technical assessment, the aircraft was declared Aircraft on Ground (AOG) due to significant damage to the radome. This affected the return service from Cape Town to Nairobi,” KQ stated.
In line with standard safety and operational procedures, the aircraft is undergoing the necessary inspections and maintenance. The airline’s technical teams are working to return the aircraft to Nairobi within the next 24 hours.
Kenya Airways said it is actively working to minimise schedule disruptions and support affected passengers with updates on alternative travel arrangements where applicable.
“We sincerely apologise to our guests for the inconvenience caused and appreciate their patience and understanding as we work to restore normal operations,” the airline added.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a “bird strike” is a collision between a bird and an aircraft that is in flight, or on takeoff or landing roll.
Essentially, this means that during any phase of flight, a bird strike can occur.
The size of the bird or the speed at which the aircraft is traveling doesn’t matter. While the biggest danger comes from a combination of larger birds at higher aircraft speeds, there is still a small risk presented even from tiny birds.
Bird strikes are certainly not uncommon. According to published figures on the FAA ‘wildlife strike’ database in New York airports alone, there were 493 incidents reported from January 1, 2021 to 1st January 2022.
Or, to spread that data over a broader range, according to the FAA, there have been over 17,000 wildlife strikes recorded in 2019.
However, while this may sound like a lot, on the whole, bird strikes don’t pose a significant risk. According to ICAO, in a 31-year period, wildlife strikes have only accounted for 292 fatalities worldwide.
Statistically, that is 9 per year. When you factor in that in 2019, 4.5 billion people flew worldwide, the odds of a fatality are small.