Black kite hits Thai Airways’ aircraft

KATHMANDU, March 23: A black kite crashed into the right engine of a Thai Airways’ aircraft at Tribhuvan International Airport. As major damage was not caused to the aircraft, it left for Bangkok in the evening after some maintenance work.The Boeing 777 en route to Kathmandu from Bangkok was hit just above Godawari but landed safely at TIA at 12:35pm, according to Deo Chandra Lal Karn, chief of Airport Operation Department, TIA Civil Aviation Office.

“The black kite hit the right engine when the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 8,000 feet and caused only a minor damage,” he added. The plane was carrying 216 passengers and 15 crew members. Earlier in December, an aircraft of Jet Airways was also hit by a black kite in the same area around noon while preparing to land at TIA.A TIA official said this issue of black kites hitting aircraft in the concerned area needed to be investigated properly.

The Thai Airways plane returned to Bangkok at around 6:50pm, after a five-hour delay in its scheduled departure time.