Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air plane suffers bird strike, safely returns to Mumbai airport

For the first time, a Boeing aircraft of India's newest airline Akasa Air suffered a bird strike on its way to Bengaluru airport, forcing the plane to return to its origin airport. The plane landed at Mumbai Airport on Saturday, keeping the passengers safe. The incident occurred while the plane was completing its flight QP1103. Based on reports, the problem was noticed after a burning smell originated from the engine was noticed in the cabin of the plane. Taking note of the situation, the pilot took prompt action returning the passengers and the plane safely to Mumbai Airport.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is looking into the incident, the official said. The number of passengers on board the flight could not be immediately known. "The aircraft VT-YAE, operating Akasa Air flight from Mumbai for Bengaluru, was involved in air turnback due to the burning smell felt in the cabin. The smell increased as the thrust was increased," said the official. 

Akasa Air has issued a statement on the situation saying, "The aircraft was positioned for a detailed inspection and has now returned to service. Our customer service team assisted passengers and arrangements were made to accommodate their journeys. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused."

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The DGCA official said, however, no other abnormality, including in engine parameters was observed. "After landing during the inspection, bird remains were found on engine number 1 of the aircraft," he said and added that "the burning smell was due to bird strike," he stated. Akasa Air started its operations on August 7 this year.

Akasa Air QP-1103 suffered a bird hit on its way to Bangalore today. The flight returned safely to Mumbai airport. pic.twitter.com/gwesklSSEJ — ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2022

It is to be noted that Akasa Air is the newest airline in India and started its operations on August 7. The airline is still working on expanding its domestic operation in the country. The airline started its Bengaluru-Mumbai operations in the initial days of starting its domestic services in August with the aim of expanding to more cities.

Most recently, on October 7, 2022, the airline commenced its direct flight services connecting Bengaluru and Delhi. Akasa Air currently operates approximately 30 flights per day with a fleet of six aircraft. However, the company has purchased 72 Boeing 737-800 MAX aircraft and will receive 18 new aircraft by the end of March 2019.

Previously, there have been multiple incidents of planes of different airlines suffering bird strikes. It is to be noted that the bird strike can cause significant damage to the aircraft. Multiple international organisations have been working towards developing technology to reduce such incidents.

With PTI inputs