On 28 November 2004, the landing gear of KLM Flight 1673 struck a bird, which broke a cable in the nose wheel. The flight continued normally, but when the flight crew attempted to land their jet, they were unable to control the aircraft's movement, and the aircraft veered off the runway before the landing gear collapsed. All 146 passengers on board the Boeing 737-406

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

 survived the accident.

Accident

The jet was cleared for departure from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at 16:46. During take-off from runway 18L, the nose gear of the plane hit a bird. This incident was reported to air traffic control, the landing gear was raised normally and the flight continued normally.

Upon touching down on runway 25R at Barcelona International Airport

Barcelona International Airport

Barcelona El Prat Airport , simply known as Barcelona Airport, is located southwest of the center of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, lying in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans and Sant Boi.The airport is the second largest in Spain behind Madrid Barajas Airport and the...

, the aircraft started deviating to the left of the runway centreline. The crew applied right rudder, braking and nose wheel steering tiller but could not keep the aircraft on the runway. After it veered off the paved surface of the runway at about 100 knots, the jet went through an area of soft sand where construction works were being carried out. The nose landing gear leg collapsed and the left main landing gear leg detached from its fittings shortly before the aircraft came to a stop perched over the edge of a drainage canal. All crew and passengers were able to leave the aircraft safely, but the aircraft itself had to be completely written off.

Investigation

The cause was discovered to be a broken cable in the nose wheel steering system caused by the bird collision. Contributing to the snapped cable was the improper application of grease during routine maintenance which had shown local wear to begin with. The final report on the accident concluded:

It is considered that the accident probably happened because during the takeoff a bird strike broke one of the cables of the nose wheel steering system of the aircraft and jammed the other, which made that the nose wheels were rotated to the left during landing, causing a veering to the left that could not be arrested by full rudder deflection as the aircraft decelerated. The subsequent application of brakes and other actions by the crew could not avoid that the aircraft went outside the runway surface.
The damages to the aircraft were increased by the condition of the runway strip due to the airport construction works.
Contributing to the breaking of the cable was the fact that it was severely worn locally. The wear could be traced back to the incorrect application of grease to the cable system during maintenance. Despite the training and experience of the flight crew, they were unable to quickly recognize the possible cause of the deviation of the aircraft and to keep the aircraft on the runway.

KLM continues to use Flight 1673 on its Amsterdam-Barcelona route.