Bird grounds Calicut flight

A Dubai-bound Air India flight had to make an emergency landing after a bird flew into the plane's engine.

Flight AI-937 left Calicut International Airport in Kerala at 10am yesterday but was forced to turn back shortly after take-off.

A duty general manager at the Indian airport confirmed last night that a bird had flown into the aircraft.

The right engine was badly damaged, forcing the plane to dump its fuel into the Arabian Sea before returning to Calicut Airport for an emergency landing.

Air India arranged another plane for the passengers. It landed in Dubai at 4.45pm, more than four hours after their scheduled flight.

Abhay Pathak, an Air India regional manager for the Gulf, Middle East and Africa, declined to comment last night.

talsubaihi@thenational.ae