[1][2] On May 25, 2008, the Boeing 747-200 suffered a bird strike and overran runway 20 (later renumbered to 19[3]) during takeoff at Brussels Airport, causing the aircraft to split into three large pieces.

They were asked to line up behind a Korean Air Boeing 747 and wait for takeoff clearance.

[8] They decided to cancel the takeoff by engaging the thrust-reversers and setting the engine power to idle.

A witness later reported hearing a "slight knock" and noticed a plane charging towards him, after which he immediately ran for cover.

It was determined that there were traces of the European kestrel inside engine 3 causing it to lose power and fail, which was accompanied by a loud bang and it was noticed by the crew with immediate actions to slow down the plane.

The bird strike also caused the thrust reversers to not engage, thereby not adequately slowing down the aircraft.

[7] The bird strike, the malfunctioning of the thrust reverser, and the lack of situational awareness contributed to the crash of Flight 207.

The Bird Control Unit (BCU) was also reinforced to be more accurate and subsequent training for its use was also provided in the DVD.

[7] The use of the full length of runway 20 was never published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).