Double Zero, whilst I'm not prepared to speculate about the causes of this incident, hopefully I can give some generic insight. Part of the way Tornado is designed incorporates more than one hydraulic system, which helps with redundancy. However, it would be bulky and heavy to have every system powered by both hyd channels. Some of the systems are fed by either the left or the right hyd system - for example the spoilers are split inboard/outboard and driven by different hyd feeds. Another example is nosewheel steering, which is driven by just one side of the hyd system. It is possible that a birdstrike might disable some systems but not others, leading to unusual system deployment on landing.
Edit to add: Reverse thrust has it's own set of limitations in use, which may preclude or restrict it's use in some circumstances. If the speed is low enough and you suffer a wheel brake failure, say, rev thrust may not be able to stop you rolling off the runway into the grass.
Following a bird strike, one option available to the crew is to carry out a low speed handling check - usually carried out if airframe but not engine damage is suspected. To carry this out you can fly into a safe area - for example over the sea or in the overhead of an airfield, and then progressively slow down and configure the aircraft, monitoring it for loss of control. This could, for example, reveal that the flaps won't travel beyond mid, or a tendancy to roll below a certain speed. Armed with this knowledge the crew can then modify their approach accordingly. In most cases, a birdstrike leaves you time to climb away from the ground, catch your breath and then solve any ensuing problems in slow time - very rarely do you need to throw the aircraft on the ground straight away.
Anyway, hope this helps a little. I've tried to avoid speculation on this partictular incident but I hope I've made it a little clearer why you might see aircraft landing from a birdstrike in unusual configurations.
Blunty
Last edited by BluntM8; 6th Aug 2008 at 21:28.