Air India flight from Colombo to Chennai cancelled after bird hit

An Air India flight from Colombo to Chennai carrying 158 passengers suffered a bird hit during landing on Tuesday

An Air India flight from Colombo to Chennai carrying 158 passengers suffered a bird hit on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported. The airlines was forced to cancel the flight after the incident.

Air India was forced to cancel the flight after the incident.(Representational/Reuters)

The aircraft landed safely and all the passengers were safely disembarked from the plane, officials told PTI.

Authorities further added that the bird hit was detected after it touched down at the airport in Chennai.

Following the hit, the aircraft has been grounded for extensive checks by Air India engineers and airport officials. Furthermore, airline officials the return journey of the AI flight due to the incident.

A different aircraft was arranged for the 137 passengers who later left for Colombo, they said.

“On 7 October, the flight crew of AI273 operating from Chennai to Colombo, reported a suspected bird strike. After landing at Colombo, the engineers who inspected the aircraft found no damage, and the aircraft was cleared for operation. The same aircraft operated flight AI274 from Colombo to Chennai as per schedule. Upon routine post-flight checks at Chennai, the engineers observed an impact on an engine blade. Consequently, the aircraft has been grounded for further inspections and to ascertain the cause of the damage," an Air India Spokesperson was quoted as saying by ANI.

DGCA probes into unexpected RAT deployment of UK-bound AI flight

On Saturday, an Air India flight going from Punjab's Amritsar to England's Birmingham encountered a serious mid-air scare after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner saw the unexpected deployment of its Ram Air Turbine (RAT) during landing.

Officials told HT that the DGCA will be investigating the incident. The flight landed safely in Birmingham and was grounded for further inspection.

“The operating crew of flight AI117 from Amritsar to Birmingham on 4 October 2025 detected deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) of the aircraft during its final approach. All electrical and hydraulic parameters were found normal, and the aircraft performed a safe landing at Birmingham,” read the official statement issued by Air India.

The RAT system is an emergency system that is activated automatically when an aircraft loses power.