Bird-hits affect Mumbai flights

Mumbai: Birds around Mumbai airport runway impeded smooth flight movements on Friday morning, forcing one flight to return mid-way and another to do a go-around.
A Kingfisher flight to Delhi suffered a bird-hit and returned to Mumbai airport 12 minutes after it was air-borne. The flight was hit by a bird moments after take-off.
The Kingfisher flight took off from Mumbai airport at 6.21 am. Soon after, the pilot heard a loud thud on the right side and suspected a bird-hit. Since the aircraft, an Airbus A321, had already crossed its decision speed, the pilot was unavailable to reject the take-off. He immediately informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and asked for a priority landing. The flight landed safely at 6.33 am with 120 passengers on board. The passengers were later moved to another aircraft, which left Mumbai at 8:45 am. Officials said the engine of the aircraft suffered significant damage and it seemed that a ''big bird had hit the aircraft. An airline spokesperson confirmed the incident.
Officials said that the bird menace continued for a few more minutes. A Jet Airways flight to Delhi reported bird activity on the runway. An arriving Spice Jet flight was then asked to do a go-around and land after a jeep of bird-chasers cleared the runway.
09/10/10 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: airports Oct 2010, Jet Airways Oct 2010, Kingfisher Oct 2010, Safety Oct 2010