Two of the last 12 Tornado F3s in service with No.lll Squadron at RAF Leuchars, Fife, have been withdrawn from service after suffering birdstrikes. ZE341/HI' diverted into RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire on January 5 after hitting a bird that damaged the cockpit canopy. While this would not normally have resulted in the aircraft being withdrawn from use, given the scheduled retirement of the type in March, repair was deemed to be uneconomic and so the fighter was admitted to the disassembly process on February 3.
展开▼
