Coimbatore - Sharjah flight which took off was grounded after a bird hit the left engine. As many as 164 passengers have been waiting for four hours at the city airport even as the repair works are underway.
Coimbatore: Flights are being operated from the city airport to Sharjah and Singapore. An Air Arabia flight with 164 passengers on board was scheduled to take off from Coimbatore airport to Sharjah at 7 am today.
As the plane took off, two birds hit the plane's left engine and due to this, there was a fault developed in the aircraft engine blade. It is yet to be ascertained if the birds are vultures or peacocks.
Soon after, the pilot who informed air traffic grounded the plane. Later, all the 164 passengers on board were evacuated.
After the plane landed, engineers who were on standby immediately inspected the engine and found an eagle entangled in a ruined state. The engineers who removed it are considering replacing the machine.
The passengers have been made to wait in a waiting hall. According to airport authorities the aircraft immediately halted after the engine failure, due to which any major incident was averted.