Bangalore: Dog-hit Grounds Kingfisher Flight in City

TOI

Bangalore, Mar 28: We’ve heard about bird-hits. This time, though, it was a black dog. A Kingfisher Airlines aircraft readying for takeoff was grounded as it hit a dog that darted across the runway at HAL airport on Thursday night. The aircraft, an ATR 72, was taking off for Hyderabad at 9.50 pm when the incident occurred.

Two passengers who suffered shock have been hospitalized, police and ATC officials said. The 23 other passengers and four crew members are safe. The passengers claimed "many" of them were injured when they jumped off the plane for safety reasons, as advised by the crew. The airline confirmed two were injured.

A Kingfisher Airlines release quoted the commander as saying the black dog crossed the runway when the the aircraft was on a roll. The pilots could not see the animal because the runway is dimly lit.

"The nosewheel came in direct contact with the dog. Owing to the speed and impact, the nosewheel got jammed. The aircraft was dragged up to a point before it came to a halt," an official said.

The plane had gained momentum on the runway when the incident occurred. The pilots kept the aircraft under control. "The aircraft was on the central line of the runway and was immobilized for two hours," a senior official said.

The official confirmed eight aircraft had to hover over the airport for more than an hour before they were diverted to Chennai and other cities.

However, one of the passengers told TOI he felt a tyre burst had occurred while the plane was in motion. “It came to an abrupt halt on the runway after the burst. All passengers were asked to come out of the aircraft through the exit doors that were opened soon after the aircraft halted. The air crew helped us a lot,” he said.