Ranchi-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing after bird hit; aircraft sustains damage

All the passengers and crew members are safe while the aircraft Airbus 320 suffered damage

An IndiGo flight experienced a bird strike and was forced to make an emergency landing at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport on Monday, according to an official quoted by news agency PTI. All 175 passengers on board had a close call, while the Airbus A320 aircraft sustained some damage.

"An IndiGo flight suffered a bird hit near Ranchi. It was approximately 10 to 12 nautical miles away from here, at about 3,000 to 4,000 feet altitude, when the incident occurred. The IndiGo flight was coming from Patna to Ranchi, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing here," Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi, Director R R Maurya told PTI. He said all the passengers are safe, but the "aircraft suffered a dent after being hit by a vulture. Engineers are assessing the damage," he said.

The incident occurred at 1.14 pm. Another official said that the aircraft, which was coming to Ranchi, was scheduled to go to Kolkata.