TIRUCHY: A Tiger Airways flight (A320) was grounded since 10.25 am on Monday as the windshield in the cockpit developed a crack following a bird hit, as the airliner was about to land at the Tiruchy International Airport here on Monday.
The Singapore-bound passengers, altogether 171, who were waiting for the flight were accommodated in various hotels in the city. Few locals have went back to their homes, sources from Tiger Airways said.
According to officials from Tiruchy airport, a crow had hit the windshield of the 180 seater aircraft, while the pilot was trying to land. This developed a crack on the windshield.
After landing the flight carefully, the pilot alerted the technical wing of the airlines at Singapore about the hit. As per the pilot’s report, as the aircraft was not in a condition to take off again. Hence, the airline officials announced cancellation of the service on that particular sector.
According to Tiger Airways officials, they were waiting for a windshield which would arrive from Singapore at 11 pm, to replace the cracked one.
Passengers would then be allowed to board the plane and the flight is likely to depart from here possibly around 12 am on Tuesday after repairs.
All the 94 passengers and five crew members from Singapore who were on board, escaped unhurt. If the incident would have occurred during departure, the impact would have been unimaginable, officials from Tiruchy airport opined.
The officials cited the dumping of garbage in and around the Tiruchy airport as the likely reason behind the bird hit, which they said occurred at least once every year.
They particularly mentioned that the Ariyamangalam garbage yard was posing a major threat to flights. As per international standards, there should not be even a single garbage heap within a 10-kilometre radius of airport. Unfortunately, this was not the case with Tiruchy International Airport, officials lamented.