A GoAir flight to Bengaluru had to abort take-off following a bird hit which caused a minor fire and damaged a fan blade, at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The passengers and the crew were deplaned safely.
The bird, which was ingested by the right engine, caused a minor fire besides damaging a fan blade. The fire was immediately doused by the airport unit. The aircraft was later inspected by a GoAir engineering team. All the passengers were safe and no evacuation was necessitated, said a GoAir spokesperson.
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The aircraft, an Airbus 320 Neo with a P&W engine, was towed away from the runway and the passengers were de-planed. The incident occurred a little after 9.30 a.m. “The passengers and the crew of GoAir flight G8 802 from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru have been deplaned safely. An alternative aircraft was arranged to accommodate the passengers,” the spokesperson said.
Due to this incident, the timings for the takeoff from Ahmedabad and landing at Bengaluru were revised. The flight took off at 1.30 p.m. to land at 3 p.m. In a statement, the GoAir said all the passengers were being provided assistance and refreshments. “At GoAir, the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance and the airline sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused to its passengers,” it said.
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The DGCA said it had sought a report. Officials said the airport would take all measures to keep the bird and monkey menace under check, especially given the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump in Ahmedabad next week. The airport has had a monkey problem for sometime, with officials now dressing up as bears to scare away the langurs.
