Suspected bird hit grounds Bengaluru-bound flight carrying 131 passengers

Ahead of preparations for American President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meet in Ahmedabad on February 24, a major suspected bird hit incident was reported at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Tuesday morning that grounded a Bengaluru-bound GoAir flight carrying 131 passengers Tuesday morning.

According to sources, the flight was on take-off run when the pilot reported to the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) that due to "suspected bird hit, right engine of the aircraft caught fire." Airport authority official tried to downplay the incident saying that it is yet not clear what exactly caused the fire. They said that "the pilot informed the ATC that it is a case of suspected bird hit."

"The right engine of the GoAir flight G8-802 from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru suffered from a Foreign Object Damage (FOD) while on take-off roll. The FOD resulted i a small fire which has been doused," a statement released by GoAir spokesperson read. Sources said that at least four flights had to be diverted due to the emergency situation and several flights were delayed.

A GoAir official, on the condition of anonymity, said that there was no emergency evacuation as the fire was doused immediately and the aircraft was towed away to the parking. The passengers were accommodated in another aircraft which was arranged after a delay of nearly four hours. The incident holds important in view of the fact that airport officials are on guard to ensure safe landing of American President Trump on February 24. The road show, claimed to be one of the biggest ever held in the country for a foreign delegate, is also starting from airport. Two cargo aircraft have also already landed while six others are expected to land in the coming day including Air Force One carrying Trump and his wife Melania on February 24 at 12:30 PM.

"The bird hit cases are rampant here since many years. On average, we registered two or three cases every month but those are mostly minor cases. Today's case was one of the major incident that has grounded the flight. The flight will not be able to take off for at least ten days now," said a senior officer of Airport Authority of India. He added that orders have been issued to take extra precaution to avoid such mishaps.