Kathmandu-bound MAS flight 'ducks' away from potential disaster

A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft ferrying 180 passengers and crew 'ducked' away from a potential disaster when a flock of ducks struck the aircraft's windshield during touchdown on the runway of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Friday night.

According to a report, the impact left the southern tip of Runway 02 strewn with broken glass, Nepal's news portal kantipuronline.com. quoted airport authorities as saying on Saturday.

There was no report of injury on board the Kathmandu-bound MH-144 aircraft from Kuala Lumpur in the incident which occurred at 10.45pm.

The airline's cockpit crew, however, did not immediately inform the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) of the incident.

The flight captain later confirmed "suspected bird-hit", but only after a Jet Airways crew reported it to the airport authority, said the report.

It is understood the MAS pilots might face action for failing to report the incident on time.

"The incident came to light after a pilot of Jet Airways, which landed minutes after MAS, informed us of sighting pieces of glass on the runway, said an ATC on condition of anonymity.

Upon inspection, TIA officials found at least 10 dead ducks along with pieces of glass on the runway. The debris was cleared and the airport resumed normal operations after 30 minutes.

The officials found two more dead ducks during a routine inspection early on Saturday morning.

It s the first time that we have seen so many ducks in the airport area, said an official, adding that they could be migrating ducks.

The airline cancelled a return flight to Kuala Lumpur that was scheduled at 11pm on Friday.

All passengers who were booked on the flight were subsequently, transferred to the Soaltee, Annapurna and Hyatt Regency hotels. The plane took off for the Malaysian capital at 3:30pm on Saturday after necessary repairs.

Meanwhile, the ATC official said the TIA general manager had been notified of the incident, recommending action against the MAS pilots for failing to report the incident on time.

The pilots should have informed the airport authorities immediately to prevent any untoward incident, said the official.

More than 75 bird strike incidents have occurred during take-off or landing at the TIA since 1990.

Three of them resulted in major damage to aircraft. While a Thai Airways Airbus A300 in 1996 and a Bangladesh Biman DC-10 in 2010 escaped accident, 19 people were killed when Sita Air Dornier crashed in September 2012.