Mumbai: In a bizzare incident, an Air India flight scheduled to Bangkok from Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) faced delay by 5+ hours as hay from bird's nest gets stuck in the left wing of Aircaft. Video of the crew trying to clear the wing is taking rounds on social media platforms.
The flight tracking website flightradar24.com shows that AI 2354, an Airbus A320Neo plane, was scheduled to depart from Mumbai airport at 7:45 am. The flight departed around 1 am. A video has been surfacing where the airport crew can be seen removing the nest from the aircraft's wings. Check out the video below:
Once the issue occurred, the travelers were asked to exit the plane and were given snacks. The airline resolved the problem, and the plane was eventually cleared for service, the statement indicated. However, it remarked that the source of the hay caught in the wings was indeterminate.
The airline later stated that the flight crew's adherence to regulatory flight duty time limits prevented the aircraft from departing immediately following the incident. Air India announced that the flight departed after a new crew had arrived.
The incident takes place shortly after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted surprise monitoring checks at significant airports nationwide. During the inspections, the regulatory body found safety breaches, leading it to mandate that airports and airlines take corrective measures within one week.
The safety assessment came after the tragic incident involving the Air India flight bound for London in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 270 individuals. By closely monitoring the Delhi and Mumbai airports around the clock, the DGCA uncovered major deficiencies in aircraft maintenance, ground operations, and aircraft infrastructure.
