Moonrocket wrote:
Three and a half hours after I was expecting to head home I'm starting to get curious.
What happens to a plane that hits a bird and how do they validate they have fixed it?
Been in management with the airlines for many years. It all depends on what maintenance finds as far as the severity of the bird strike, and where on the plane it is. The airline's and the plane maker's engineers often need to see pictures of the damage to determine the extent of the bird strike inspection, first of all, which could include an in-depth boroscope and repair/replacement of any damaged portions of the plane. At minimum, they'll have to mark the area that's been struck and do logbook entries and then get a go-ahead from the airline's engineers and maintenance people plus something from the plane maker. That can take time.
Then, the plane's captain has to agree to take it and he or she may ask for additional inspection/repair/replacement and documentation. It's sometimes pretty involved, in other words.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."