The pilot of a Royal Air Force Typhoon has landed safely after an unusual incident saw the jet’s canopy jettisoned over the North Sea before an emergency landing at RAF Coningsby.
BBC News reports, following much discussion among aviation enthusiasts, that a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon from XI (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Coningsby suffered from a suspected bird strike. For currently unconfirmed reasons, the incident led to the pilot choosing to jettison the aircraft’s canopy – the transparent panel surrounding the cockpit – before proceeding back to base for an emergency landing.
RAF Typhoon landed today missing a canopy #bitnippy (Pics by Richard Boettcher) pic.twitter.com/4QBPkpLEya
— Tim Davies 🏴 (@timdavies_uk) January 23, 2025
A safe landing was made at Coningsby, sans canopy, but as of the time when we first report this news there are no available images of the landing. An RAF spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the pilot landed safely and was unharmed, as well as confirming that the incident was due to a suspected bird strike.
Ooooops pic.twitter.com/XpWIJxzWDV
— #Marcher (@MarcherReborn) January 23, 2025
This incident comes just several days following one we previously reported where an RAF Typhoon, also operating from Coningsby, lost a pylon and targeting pod over Yorkshire.
Typhoons use a two-piece canopy comprising a larger rear section, which hinges and lifts from the back to allow aircrew to enter and exit the aircraft, along with a windshield-type front section which is fixed to the airframe. The rear section is able to jettison from the aircraft, and this function would usually be employed during an ejection from the aircraft. After pulling the ejection handle, the canopy is jettisoned within 0.3 seconds, with the ejection seat firing its rockets and leaving the aircraft just 0.15 seconds later. Some other RAF aircraft instead use embedded explosive cords to shatter the canopy prior to ejection.
While aircraft canopies are designed to be resistant to bird strikes, and their effectiveness in this aspect is heavily tested, it can never be absolutely guaranteed that it would suffer no adverse effects from a bird strike. This is particularly the case at very high speeds, or if the bird encountered is of a very large species.
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As well as the possibility that the canopy panel itself might have become heavily damaged, there may have otherwise been concerns that the impact had damaged the jettison mechanism. which would potentially jeopardise the ejection process should it need to be triggered.
For the Typhoon pilot, the presence of the fixed windshield section would have likely been highly beneficial over a bubble canopy in terms of reducing the strong blasts of air that would be associated with flying a jet aircraft at even its lowest speed.
According to the BBC, quoting the RAF, an F-35B from RAF Marham, Norfolk, was also involved in a bird strike on Jan. 20. The collision, which happened while the aircraft was flying over north Wales, reportedly resulted in damage to the front of the jet, with a spokesperson describing it as likely “negligible.” The F-35 safely performed a precautionary landing and the pilot was unharmed.
Major Brett DeVries of the U.S. Air Force, whose A-10 Thunderbolt II shed its canopy following a gun malfunction in 2017, said that the strength of the air rushing past was strong enough to pin his head back against the headrest – as if he had been punched. He chose to lower his seat as far as it would go in an attempt to mitigate the issue. The A-10, like the Typhoon, has a two-part canopy with a windshield.
XI (F) Squadron, otherwise known as 9 Squadron, is described by the RAF as the world’s oldest dedicated fighter unit. It is one of five Typhoon squadrons based at RAF Coningsby, and has operated the type since 2007. The squadron took part in Operation Ellamy – the UK’s contribution to the NATO mission over Libya in 2011 – as well as Operation Shader, targeting ISIS operations in Iraq and Syria.
More information will follow as and when it becomes available.
