An IndiGo flight headed to Ranchi was compelled to land in an emergency on Monday, news agency PTI reported, quoting officials. Officials said that the emergency landing was a result of a bird strike and that all 175 passengers were safe.
Vulture Hit at 4,000 Feet Causes Aircraft Damage
PTI also reported that the plane was damaged after being struck by vulture at 4,000 feet altitude.
“An IndiGo flight suffered a bird hit near Ranchi. It was approximately 10 to 12 nautical miles away from here, at about 3,000 to 4,000 feet altitude, when the incident occurred. The IndiGo flight was coming from Patna to Ranchi, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing here,” Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi, Director R R Maurya told news agency PTI.
He added that the “aircraft suffered a dent after being hit by a vulture. Engineers are assessing the damage.”
Recent Weather-Related Incident on IndiGo Flight to Delhi
On Sunday, an IndiGo flight going to Delhi was hit with severe turbulence because of the harsh weather in the national capital.
IndiGo Flight 6E 6313 Raipur to Delhi safely landed at the Delhi airport after orbiting in the air for a few hours because of the dust storm on Sunday.
Because of the intensity of the weather, the pilot canceled landing at Delhi airport and flew around in the air until the weather situation improved to land.
Hailstorm Forces Mid-Air Reroute on Srinagar-Bound IndiGo Flight
The incident is weeks after an IndiGo plane headed to Srinagar experienced severe turbulence shortly after taking off from Delhi’s IGI airport. The aircraft was hit by a heavy hailstorm while flying over Pathankot, Punjab and also experienced damage to the nose of the aircraft from the hail.
The hailstorm for the Srinagar flight led the IndiGo pilots to seek permission to fly into Pakistani airspace in an effort to escape the hailstorm and heavy rain. Permission was denied by the Indian Air Force as well as Lahore Air Traffic Control. The pilots proceeded to Srinagar and landed successfully.