Bird-hit IndiGo flight makes emergency Ranchi landing

RANCHI: A Ranchi-bound Indigo flight from Patna carrying 175 passengers made an emergency landing at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi on Monday after a bird reportedly hit the aircraft.

The nose of the Airbus A320 suffered damage, but all passengers and crew on board the flight, 6E6902, were unharmed.Ranchi airport director R R Mourya said, "The aircraft was approximately 10-12 nautical miles away from Ranchi and was flying at an altitude of 3,000-4,000ft when it was hit by a big bird, which looked like a vulture, following which it had to make an emergency landing. The flight landed safely at 1.14 pm, and the passengers are safe." Mourya said the aircraft suffered a dent after the bird hit, and technical experts were assessing the damage.The flight was scheduled to depart for Kolkata from Ranchi, but was terminated as the aircraft was grounded due to the damage.