Spicejet aircraft hit by stray buffalo, shuts operations at Surat

After a buffalo came in the way of a Spicejet aircraft preparing to take off to Delhi from Surat airport on Thursday, the airlines has decided to discontinue its services at the airport. As per officials, none of the 146 passengers and crew members on board are said to have been injured.

The civil aviation ministry has taken serious note of the incident and has asked the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and other private operators to make sure that boundary walls are all intact, so that an incident like this does not happen again.

The minister of civil aviation has also desired that AAI frame short term, medium term and long term plans for airports where these types of boundary breaches have been reported in the past.

An airlines source informed, "The decision to shut operations was taken because the flight sustained severe damage, which will cost the company a large amount of money to repair."

The incident happened when flight SG 622 from Surat to New Delhi was on take-off roll when it was reportedly hit by a buffalo. A spokesperson for the airline said, "The buffalo was essentially invisible against a dark background."

In the accident, the aircraft was impacted quite severely and was therefore grounded. An alternative Spicejet aircraft was arranged and passengers departed for Delhi at 10:55 pm.

According to aviation industry officials, stray animals are a growing menace at some airports. The spokesperson added, "This incident has affected our regular operations and hence, SpiceJet flights from Surat will now be suspended as soon as possible."