Sharjah bound  flight grounded in Coimbatore after eagle hit

Chennai, Jan 2 (BPNS)

A Sharjah-bound Air Arabia flight was grounded after two eagles hit the left side engine when it was taking off. The flight was moving through the runway when the birds hit the engine and this led to the stoppage of the flight.

The engineers were examining the flight after the bird hit and all the 164 passengers of the aircraft were alighted from the flight. One of the two eagles that hit the flight engine died after hitting the engine blade.

There are on average three bird hits on aircraft taking off from Coimbatore but this is for the first time that all the passengers were alighted from the aircraft to check the damages inflicted on the aircraft in the last seven years.

Coimbatore Airport director, S. Senthil Valavan while speaking to media persons said that to control bird hits, control measures were being taken including the use of bird care guns, employing bird chasers, and also using herbicides to control plant growth.

The height of the grass is maintained at a minimal level as birds generally use it as a breeding ground. Sources in the Coimbatore Airport also told BPNS that dumping waste near the airport has been strictly banned as birds usually reach dumping sites for eating the leftovers.

The Coimbatore airport authorities are planning to implement more bird control measures and research institutions have been deployed to study the bird menace.