A day after the Air India Express plane crash in Kerala, a major accident was averted in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on Saturday. An aircraft with more than 140 passengers onboard, was preparing to fly for Mumbai from Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi when a bird crashed into the plane. The pilot of the Air Asia aircraft heading for the takeoff on the runway realized that something had hit the plane and applied emergency brakes. The aircraft stopped on the runway before taking off. Passengers and crew members aboard this plane narrowly escaped.
The incident occurred at Birsa Munda Airport at 11:50 am. Engineers and technicians were called and they checked the entire aircraft. The aircraft is currently being inspected. The flight is scheduled to depart once the aircraft is cleared for operations.
The director of Ranchi-based Birsa Munda Airport said that an Air Asia aircraft (i5-632) was set to fly to Mumbai at 11:50 am. During the take-off, a bird crashed into the plane. The pilot sensed this and stopped the aircraft by applying emergency brakes, showing sensibility and a major accident was averted. He added that engineers are inspecting the aircraft. Only after getting the green signal from the engineer and technical team, the aircraft will be sent to Mumbai.
The airline said an alternative aircraft is being made available to ferry guests from Ranchi to Mumbai and all guests are being attended to and provided with refreshments by their guest services staff. An Air India Express plane had crashed in Kerala a day earlier, where18 people, including two pilots, have been confirmed dead.
Since its inception, birds colliding with aircrafts has been common in Ranchi. However, in recent times such incidents have reduced. The biggest reason for bird hits is believed to be the meat-fish shops around the airport. The 3 km radius of the airport is restricted from meat sale, but meat-fish is sold in the open in Birsa Chowk, near the Vidhan Sabha, Sector Two Market, Hinu Chowk, Doranda areas. This area is in the vicinity of the airport. Birds come due to the smell of meat and fish, and it creates the possibility of birds hitting aircraft. When the passengers aboard the plane got information about a bird hitting, they panicked for a while, but the aircraft staff told them that they were out of danger. They informed that take-off will be delayed. After this, the passengers breathed a sigh of relief.