Surat: Seconds before take-off from Surat in Gujarat on Thursday evening, a SpiceJet flight with 140 passengers on board thudded to a stop; it had hit a buffalo that had strayed on to the runway because of a hole in the airport's boundary wall.
The engine of the Boeing 737 aircraft was severely damaged by the hit and the plane stopped. The buffalo was killed.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered two inquiries, by the Director General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India. A perimeter security review of airports across the country has been ordered.
Just next to the Surat airport are fields where grazing cattle are a common sight. Yesterday, one of the animals apparently entered the runway area through the gap in the boundary wall that is now being repaired.
The pilot reportedly spotted the animal "all of a sudden," but could not avoid the collision.
07/11/14 Deepshikha Ghosh/NDTV
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The engine of the Boeing 737 aircraft was severely damaged by the hit and the plane stopped. The buffalo was killed.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered two inquiries, by the Director General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India. A perimeter security review of airports across the country has been ordered.
Just next to the Surat airport are fields where grazing cattle are a common sight. Yesterday, one of the animals apparently entered the runway area through the gap in the boundary wall that is now being repaired.
The pilot reportedly spotted the animal "all of a sudden," but could not avoid the collision.
07/11/14 Deepshikha Ghosh/NDTV
