Narrative:

Taking off on runway xxr at ZZZ; I was pilot flying. Approaching V1 we noticed a large bird with an estimated wing span of ten feet appear out of nowhere on the right side of center just in front of the aircraft. I was hoping the blue heron would climb out and not hit us for if it did; it would hit either the right cockpit window; the right side of the fuselage and the first officer's sensors; or the right engine. I was concentrating on the runway center line trying not to be distracted when the impact occurred. Wham somewhere on the right side. I did not know if it hit the engine or the right side of the fuselage; I knew it hit and there was a serious chance of impending damage and possible injuries. I still had my hands on the throttles; we were still on the ground just a few kts. From rotation when I rejected the takeoff. I pulled the throttles to idle as my first officer announced V1 but I was committed. I went into full reverse; felt the auto-brakes kick in and we rapidly decelerated. Approaching a safe taxi speed I de-selected the auto-brakes; heard my first officer state 'remain seated; remain seated!' to the passengers. I taxied off the runway and when I knew we had sufficient clearance from the runway I set the parking brake. My first officer had the qrc out and we made sure we performed all the pertinent items on the checklist. Then we secured the right engine to minimize any possible damage. We did not know the extent of the damage; if any; to the aircraft. I checked with the flight attendants to ensure the cabin was undamaged and the passengers were safe and secure. I made a quick announcement over the PA to assure the passengers of what happened then went back to my duties. We initially stated to ground control no assistance was needed but a very short attempt to taxi revealed we had problems. We quickly noticed the aircraft was listing one or two degrees and we knew the tires were deflating. The brake temperature indicators were all over 900 degrees. We called ground control and asked for assistance. Shortly the ZZZ fire department arrived and hosed the tires and main landing gear area with plain water. The fire department informed us the tires were smoking and small flames were on the wheels. They extinguished all and checked for damage which they did not find.we checked with the [company] operations; informed them of the situation and made other phone calls to ensure proper agencies and corporate entities were informed. We also kept the flight attendants and passengers involved. Later the boarding steps and buses arrived and we de-planed the passengers with their carry-on luggage into the waiting buses.no passengers were injured; no damage was done to the aircraft except the deflated tires.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 flight crew reported that a large bird strike just prior to V1 resulted in a rejected takeoff and a minor wheel fire.

Narrative: Taking off on Runway XXR at ZZZ; I was pilot flying. Approaching V1 we noticed a large bird with an estimated wing span of ten feet appear out of nowhere on the right side of center just in front of the aircraft. I was hoping the blue heron would climb out and not hit us for if it did; it would hit either the right cockpit window; the right side of the fuselage and the First Officer's sensors; or the right engine. I was concentrating on the runway center line trying not to be distracted when the impact occurred. WHAM somewhere on the right side. I did not know if it hit the engine or the right side of the fuselage; I knew it hit and there was a serious chance of impending damage and possible injuries. I still had my hands on the throttles; we were still on the ground just a few kts. from rotation when I rejected the takeoff. I pulled the throttles to idle as my First Officer announced V1 but I was committed. I went into full reverse; felt the auto-brakes kick in and we rapidly decelerated. Approaching a safe taxi speed I de-selected the auto-brakes; heard my First Officer state 'Remain Seated; Remain Seated!' to the passengers. I taxied off the runway and when I knew we had sufficient clearance from the runway I set the parking brake. My First Officer had the QRC out and we made sure we performed all the pertinent items on the checklist. Then we secured the right engine to minimize any possible damage. We did not know the extent of the damage; if any; to the aircraft. I checked with the flight attendants to ensure the cabin was undamaged and the passengers were safe and secure. I made a quick announcement over the PA to assure the passengers of what happened then went back to my duties. We initially stated to Ground Control no assistance was needed but a very short attempt to taxi revealed we had problems. We quickly noticed the aircraft was listing one or two degrees and we knew the tires were deflating. The brake temperature indicators were all over 900 degrees. We called Ground Control and asked for assistance. Shortly the ZZZ fire department arrived and hosed the tires and main landing gear area with plain water. The fire department informed us the tires were smoking and small flames were on the wheels. They extinguished all and checked for damage which they did not find.We checked with the [company] Operations; informed them of the situation and made other phone calls to ensure proper agencies and corporate entities were informed. We also kept the flight attendants and passengers involved. Later the boarding steps and buses arrived and we de-planed the passengers with their carry-on luggage into the waiting buses.No passengers were injured; no damage was done to the aircraft except the deflated tires.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.