SpiceJet flight makes emergency landing at India's Patna airport after bird strike

The country's aviation regulator says all 185 passengers were taken to safety

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the SpiceJet passenger flight (not pictured) took off from Patna and was heading to Delhi, but had to return after the bird strike. Photo: Boeing

A SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at Patna airport in India after a bird hit the aircraft and caused one of its engines to shut down, the country's aviation regulator said on Sunday.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the passenger flight took off from Patna and was heading to Delhi, but had to return after the incident.

All 185 passengers were taken to safety after the plane landed. Local authorities said the engineering team was carrying out investigations, Asian News International, an Indian news agency, reported.

"On June 19, 2022, SpiceJet B737-800 aircraft was operating SG-723 (Patna-Delhi). On take-off, during rotation, the cockpit crew suspected a bird hit on the engine," the airline wrote on Twitter.

"As a precautionary measure and as per standard operating procedures, [the] Captain shut down the affected engine and decided to return to Patna. The aircraft landed safely in Patna and passengers were safely deboarded. Post-flight inspection showed a bird hit with three fan blades damaged."

Bird strikes can cause damage not only to the engines of a large aircraft, but also to other parts, including wings, nose, windscreen, and fuselage.

The majority of such incidents occur near or at airports.

During landing or take-off, bird strikes can cause damage to extended landing gear. This can lead to sufficient malfunction of brakes or nose gear steering systems, according to the website AeroTime Hub.

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