Delhi-bound Air India flight returns to Raipur following bird hit
A Delhi-bound Air India flight had to abandon take-off after suffering a bird-hit while ascending on the runway of the Swami Vivekanand Airport in Raipur on Tuesday, officials said. Flight AIC 469, with 179 passengers on board, was leaving for Delhi from the Chhattisgarh capital when the plane suffered the bird-hit at 10.05 am, following which the take-off was cancelled, Raipur Airport Director Rakesh Ranjan Sahay said.
"The passengers were subsequently de-boarded. Pieces of a bird's carcass were found during the inspection of the runway by the airport staff. The Air India's engineering personnel are inspecting the aircraft,” he said.
Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Singh was also among the passengers. She was going to Delhi to attend a meeting of the Union cabinet, her personal staff said.
According to officials, sometimes, bird hits cause major damage to an aircraft.
The exact damage caused to the Air India aircraft will be ascertained after a complete inspection by the engineering staff, they added.
On Monday, an Air India Express flight that took off from Thiruvananthapuram for Sharjah, in the UAE, was forced to turn back shortly after taking off due to a technical glitch. There were 170 passengers onboard the flight.
The plane, which also had a crew of six, landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram airport and another flight was arranged for the passengers, including five infants, to travel to Sharjah, an Air India Express (AIE) spokesperson said.
The AIE spokesperson said the pilots noticed the technical glitch around half an hour after take-off and immediately decided to turn back to Thiruvananthapuram.
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