Bird-hit grounds Mumbai-bound flight

Ahmedabad: More than 170 passengers on the Mumbai-bound Kingfisher flight had a close shave as the aircraft was hit by a bird on Thursday morning. The incident took place at around 8 am when the flight was just about to leave the runway. This is the fourth bird-hit incident in the last one month. The bird-hit severely damaged one of the propeller blades of the aircraft, forcing the pilot to apply emergency brakes.
Panic gripped the passengers inside when sudden brakes were applied. The flight was then grounded and declared unsafe for flying again. Passengers were accommodated in alternative Mumbai-bound flights of Spice Jet and Jet Airways, said an airline official, adding that those demanding refunds were given back money.
"The flight was about to touch the 175-180 knots take off speed when a bird-hit the propeller blade. Had the incident taken place a few seconds late then the pilot would have had to take off despite the damage as applying emergency brakes wouldn't have been possible," said an airport official.
27/05/11 Times of India

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Categories: Airports May 2011, Kingfisher May 2011, Safety May 2011