Coast Guard Dornier suffers bird hit: pilot lands plane safely

Kochi, Oct 6 (UNI) A major disaster was averted when a Dornier aircraft of the Coast Guard, on an operational sortie, suffered a bird hit in the vicinity of Naval Air Station Garuda here yesterday.

However, thanks to the skill and experience of the pilot, the aircraft landed safely immediately thereafter.

''The accident could have assumed serious consequences had the aircraft lost control and plunged into the oil tanks or even the thickly populated area close to the runway,' a spokesman for the Southern Naval Command said here today.

He said the Navy had repeatedly highlighted the issue of flight safety to the Corporation of Kochi ever since dumping of garbage started in 2002 at Willingdon Island, close to the Naval airport.

The corporation should find a suitable alternative site by the month end to avoid recurrence of such accidents, he added.

UNI ARC AA VD HS1511