Bird hit Air India plane flew from Colombo to Chennai, grounded after post-flight inspection
The incident began when Air India flight AI 287, carrying 158 passengers and 6 crew members from Chennai to Colombo, experienced a bird strike while landing at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday.
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CHENNAI: A major safety scare has emerged at Chennai International Airport after it was discovered that an Air India passenger aircraft, which had suffered a bird hit, was subsequently used to fly 147 passengers from Colombo back to Chennai before being declared unfit to fly.
The incident began when Air India flight AI 287, carrying 158 passengers and 6 crew members from Chennai to Colombo, experienced a bird strike while landing at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday.
After all passengers had disembarked, routine checks by ground engineers in Colombo revealed a bird carcass lodged in one of the aircraft's engines. An initial investigation determined that the strike likely occurred during the landing phase in Colombo. After a preliminary inspection, Sri Lankan airport engineers reportedly cleared the aircraft for its return journey to Chennai.
Acting on this clearance, the same aircraft departed Colombo as a return flight at 3:20 am , carrying 147 passengers and 6 crew members. It landed safely in Chennai at 4:34 am, and all passengers disembarked without incident.
The situation escalated, however, when a team of Air India and Chennai airport maintenance engineers conducted a thorough inspection of the plane. To their shock, they discovered that a fan blade in the engine had been fractured and damaged, likely a direct result of the bird strike.
Declaring the aircraft unfit for further operations, the engineers immediately grounded the plane. It was subsequently towed to a remote parking bay at the airport for extensive maintenance and repairs.
The fact that the damaged aircraft was allowed to carry 153 people on an international flight has raised serious safety concerns. In total, 321 passengers and crew members were on board the plane during its two legs after the bird strike occurred.
The incident has caused significant concern and activity at Chennai Airport. In response, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in New Delhi has ordered a comprehensive and detailed investigation into the entire sequence of events, focusing on the decision-making process that led to the aircraft being cleared for the return flight from Colombo despite the sustained damage.
