Indian airport closed after SpiceJet plane hits herd of wild boar
Sunday, 07 Dec, 2015
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Jabalpur Dumna airport in India remains closed after a SpiceJet flight carrying 53 people collided with a herd of wild boar.
The jet which had arrived from Mumbai skidded off the runway as it hit some of the animals, damaging its left landing gear and undercarriage.
"The pilot lost control of the aircraft causing the aircraft to swing off the runway. None of the passengers or crew suffered injuries," a SpiceJet official said.
"The skillful and experienced hands of the Captain helped to avert a major disaster by diverting the aircraft towards the left of the runway to moderate the impact of the event. The pilot had to apply emergency brakes, which led to the tipping of the aircraft."
It was reported seven of the boars were killed in the collision.
"No pilot is trained to land on runways infested with animals and Jabalpur airport has a chronic history," said another unnamed official.
The airport will remain closed to air traffic until inspectors from regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation have assessed the situation, airport director K Gunasekaran said.
Many airports in Madhya Pradesh have suffered near misses with wildlife straying into airports.
Wild cats, bears and even a panther have been spotted in recent years.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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