An Air India plane was forced to make an abrupt u-turn moments after taking off from Nagpur airport after experiencing a bird hit. The incident took place on Friday and forced AI 466 to make a precautionary landing and eventually cancel the flight.
“Flight AI466, operating from Nagpur to Delhi, on 24 October, experienced a bird-hit shortly after take-off. The crew decided to return to Nagpur as a precautionary measure, as per standard operating procedure, for inspection of the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely in Nagpur and underwent maintenance checks which required extended time for rectification resulting in the cancellation of the flight. Our ground team at Nagpur provided immediate assistance to the passengers, including serving meals to them,” an Air India Spokesperson said.
Recurring issue?
There have been a series of flight glitches reported in recent months — with at least four bird hit incidents making national headlines in October alone. An Air India Chennai-Colombo flight carrying 158 passengers had suffered a “suspected bird hit” on October 7. The plane was grounded after landing at the international airport in Chennai for “extensive checks”. Days later an Akasa Air aircraft flying from Pune to Delhi suffered a bird hit on October 10 and landed safely in the national capital. A third incident came on October 14 with an IndiGo flight being forced to make an emergency landing at Agartala airport shortly after takeoff for similar reasons.