Dubai-bound Indigo flight suffers bird-hit on Mangaluru airport runway; take-off cancelled

A Dubai-bound Indigo flight suffered bird-hit on the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) when the aircraft was taxiing on the runway, airport sources told news agency PTI. After the bird-hit, flight carrying 160 passengers was then cancelled for take-off. As per sources, the incident took place at around 8:30 am. 

As per the report, the bird hit on one of the wings of the aircraft, which was all set to take off. The pilot took immediate action and informed the Air Traffic Control and the take-off was aborted. All the passengers on the Dubai bound flight were deboarded and alternate arrangements were made for the passengers to travel to Dubai by another flight, which arrived from Bengaluru.

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As per the report, the incident caused anxious moments at the airport for some time. The grounded flight is being inspected by the technicians, they said. MIA authorities in a statement said the flight 6E 1467 IXE-DXB (8.25 am departure) suffered a bird hit as it entered the runway from taxiway. The pilot informed the ATC and returned to the apron at 8.30 am. 

All the passengers were deplaned and the aircraft was declared aircraft on ground (AOG) for a thorough engineering inspection. 

“IndiGo has made alternate travel arrangements for the 165 passengers who were scheduled to fly to Bengaluru on flight 6E 5347 (scheduled departure at 9.10 am). There was no panic as reported,” the statement said. The rescheduled Dubai flight left at 11.05 am.

Earlier, on 10 May, a Singapore-bound IndiGo flight was diverted to Kualanamu airport, Medan (Indonesia) after a crew member informed about a burning smell from the cabin. IndiGo A320ceo operating 6E-1007 from Tiruchirappalli was diverted to Indonesia's airport. Prior to this, in February, an IndiGo flight travelling from Surat to New Delhi was diverted to Ahmedabad after hitting a bird during its climb. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation flight 6E-646 landed safely at Ahmedabad. The 150-odd passengers and crew members were then flown to Delhi onboard another aircraft.

(With inputs from PTI)