21-07-2025
Eurofighter Typhoon Bird Strike: Stunning images capture canopy-shattering impact mid-air, internet's most viral pics inside
Bird strikes
are risky for any plane, but they're even more dangerous for fighter jets—especially when they're flying low and making sharp moves near big crowds. Thousands of bird strikes happen to planes every year worldwide, but most aren't caught on camera. However, a Spanish photographer got amazing photos of a Spanish Air Force EF2000 Eurofighter Typhoon hitting a bird during a high-speed air show.
This bird strike happened at the Aire 25 air show in Spain in June 2025. Javier Alonso de Medina Salguero was at the edge of the spotter area, taking photos of the Spanish Eagle Patrol Eurofighter demo team, when he snapped a burst of shots. He only posted the photos recently because he's been busy.
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The first picture shows what Salguero, whose work is on the air_spotter7200 Instagram account, said was a Lesser Blacked-Backed gull flying in front of the jet.
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In the second photo, you can see the moment right after the gull hits the right side of the Eurofighter's canopy, breaking apart into feathers and bone.
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As far as the third shot is concerned, it appears to be a piece of the canopy falling away and a trail of blood, guts and feathers.
The fourth photograph is a close-up of the broken forward canopy glazing.
Though photographing aviation for years, this was the first time Salguero ever saw a plane being struck by a bird.
about the incident and the quality of the images, said Salguero, who was using a Nikon 200mm-500mm lens at the time, said that he was quite surprised about the incident and the quality of shots captured.
'We were watching the exhibition of the Eurofighter when we saw that [it] left without finishing the exhibition. They reported by radio that he had hit a seagull and had broken the dome. Just at that moment I saw the photos I had and I saw the entire sequence,' he said, as quoted by The War Zone.
The Eurofighter was from the 11th Wing at Morón, according to the Spanish news outlet Infodefensa. The event celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Eagle Patrol and was attended by Spain's King Felipe VI. The bird hit the jet while it was doing aerobatic moves.
The Eurofighter left the air show following the collision and headed to the nearby San Javier Air Base. A team of specialists from the Spanish Air Force repair unit headed to the base to assess the damage, the publication noted.
The pilot survived, but crashes caused by bird strikes claimed hundreds of lives, and others have needed rescuing. One of the most well-known cases happened on January 15, 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 landed safely in the Hudson River after hitting geese.
