AirAsia
A Kolkata-bound AirAsia flight made an emergency landing at the Lucknow Airport after it suffered a bird hit mid-air. The collision took place on the runway. The pilot landed the plane safely.
“Flight i5-319, scheduled to operate from Lucknow to Kolkata, encountered a bird strike during the take-off roll. As a result, the aircraft returned to the bay and was grounded for detailed inspection”, a spokesperson of AirAsia said.
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A video of passengers deboarding the AirAsia plane has appeared on social media.
लखनऊ से कोलकाता जा रही एयर एशिया की फ़्लाइट से पक्षी टकराया
टेक-ऑफ़ के समय हुआ हादसा,
यात्रियों को लखनऊ एयरपोर्ट पर उतारा गया।@airasia @lkoairport @HardeepSPuri pic.twitter.com/wBXOYQoRVr— Manish Mishra (@mmanishmishra) January 29, 2023
In a similar incident last year, an Akasa Airplane from Ahmedabad to New Delhi was grounded for checks and maintenance following a bird hit. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft suffered radome damage at 1900 feet.
The airline industry is currently under the scanner for unruly behavior by passengers, improper safety checks, and a handful of hoax bomb threats in recent days.
Aviation regulator DGCA has imposed penalties on several airlines for falling short of expected quality in essential services.
However, bird hits and weather-induced emergency plans by airlines are quite commonplace.