Originally Posted by
ndhapple
It seems like both engines were completely unresponsive to computer (the autopilot) and human input. Which sounds more mechanical/electrical/electronic than like a bird strike. There would have had to have been two really big birds (think Canadian geese) to knock out both engines on that plane. I've looked at the video and didn't see any major birds in the video (but the quality isn't that good however).
Also go over to flightglobal.com and look at their pictures & comments. One point they make is there is no obvious sign of bits of bird plastered across the engine or the leading edge of the wing.
Plus, their analysis, which I guess I can follow, is the blades in the front end of one of the engines don't appear to be badly damaged by impact, therefore it seems unlikely it was damaged by a bird strike.