Date:07/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/07/stories/2008040754270600.htm

Karnataka

Flight grounded after ‘bird-hit’

Bangalore, Delhi Bureaus

A Kingfisher aircraft was aborted after it hit a dog that had strayed on to the runway last week
“There was no impact on the air traffic”

BANGALORE: It was a providential escape for 168 passengers travelling on a Jet Lite aircraft to Coimbatore from Bangalore on Sunday morning. The flight was aborted seconds before its take-off after it was reportedly hit by a bird at the HAL Airport here.

This comes close on the heels of an incident in which a Kingfisher aircraft was aborted after it hit a dog that had strayed on to the runway last week.

Sources said that the incident had occurred around 10.30 a.m. when the Jet Lite flight (S-2231), a Boeing 737, was preparing to take off. While sources at the airport said that the bird had actually hit the aircraft, a Jet Lite spokesperson said that the pilot had aborted the take-off after noticing a pair of kites on the runway. Sources at the HAL Airport told The Hindu that the pilot had noticed that the aircraft had suffered a bird-hit during the take-off around 10.30 a.m., and taxied the aircraft away from the runway. “It was a minor incident and there was no impact on the air traffic,” they said.

According to Jet Lite spokesperson in New Delhi, the flight was at full throttle when the pilot noticed two kites on the runway and aborted the take-off to prevent a bird-hit. The sudden de-acceleration of the aircraft resulted in the tyres getting de-capped (deflated). The flight was taxied to the bay and a team of officials from Delhi reached Bangalore to check the extent of damage.

The spokesperson said that the team had found that the landing gear involving the tyre had been slightly damaged, but there was no problem with the aircraft’s engine. After the checks were completed, the flight took off to Coimbatore at 4.10 p.m. and reached safely after a 40-minute journey, the spokespersons said.

A MIG-21 had crashed soon after take-off from the HAL Airport in August 2005, killing an Indian Air Force pilot and injuring a test engineer. It was suspected to be a case of bird-hit as the carcass of a kite-like bird was recovered from the spot.