According to communications and marketing director at Cambodia Airports Khek Norida, AirAsia’s Pnohm Penh-Kuala Lumpur flight on Monday morning had to make an emergency landing at the airport due to a bird strike only a few minutes after taking off.
Mr. Norida said:
A few minutes later after taking off, the aircraft had to return… The flight is being delayed while the engine is being checked.
The Bird Caused an Engine Problem on the Plane
An inspector for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation in Cambodia Kem Channarith explained that a bird hit the aircraft at around 10:00 AM and caused a problem with its engine.
Mr. Channarith said:
This is the responsibility of the Malaysian government. The engine is now being checked by Malaysian authorities and they will confirm what happened to use later.
He also couldn’t say which part of the aircraft was hit by the bird, but confirmed that it ended up inside an engine of the Airbus A320.
According to the airport’s departure screens the flight has now been delayed until 12:20 AM Tuesday.
AirAsia did not reveal how many passengers were on board the plane at the moment. The A320 has a seating capacity of up to 180 people.
State Secretariat of Civil Aviation Operations Director Keo Sivorn explained this kind of incident would force the pilot to land at the nearest available runway.
He commented:
Bird strikes happen in other countries and there is no way we can prevent them.
Bird Strikes Usually Happen During Takeoff or Landing
It is understood that the bird in question was small and did not cause any significant damage to the plane. If it were sucked in by the engine, however, the bird could have caused some serious problems, however.
Normally, incidents like this one happen either during takeoff, or while the plane is landing on the tarmac. It’s a much rarer occurrence for a bird to strike an airplane while at a high altitude.
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