Nepal Airlines Corporation Airbus A320 ‘9N-AKW’ has been grounded after it encountered birdstrike incident while landing at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) yesterday.
The flight ‘RA416’ was en route to TIA from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia when its flap got damaged after the bird strike while approaching TIA RWY02. The aircraft safely landed at 8:30 pm.
As per the corporation, the aircraft will require some time to be repaired as they have already consulted with the Airbus Company.
Recently, the same aircraft was grounded at Doha Hamad International Airport after encountering some technical glitch in its one engine. The aircraft was inspected by the engineering team from manufacturing company and necessary maintenance was carried out.
However, it again remains grounded at TIA and exact time for completion of the maintenance is unknown. It will cause some disruptions for NAC’s international flight operations, however, the flights will be recovered by other 4 aircraft (2 A330,1 A320 and 1 Boeing 757).
The country’s sole international airport, Tribhuvan International Airport operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been facing wildlife hazards whereas Bird Hit problem has posed a serious threat to air safety of Nepal. Mostly, every day the airport encounters a flock of birds in its vicinity that increase the risk, especially during the takeoff and landing area.
