Air India A320 Returns to Trivandrum After Bird Strike

An Air India flight from Trivandrum was forced to make a return to the origin airport after a bird strike on 25 May 2024.

Air India flight AI802, an Airbus A320-200 operating from Trivandrum International Airport (TRV) to Delhi was on climb after departure when the incident occurred.

Air India AI802 Trivandrum-Delhi

After its departure from RWY32, and with the aircraft established in climb, the bird strike occurred on the aircraft left an engine.

Flight crew subsequently terminated the climb procedure and initiated a return to the origin airport TRV.

The aircraft then landed without further incident approximately one hour after its initial departure.

Flight Details

Flight data shows that Air India flight AI802 made a delayed departure out of Trivandrum, showing an actual time of departure of 2045 local time.

Scheduled departure time for the service was listed as 1920 local time.

Following the in-flight incident, flight crew terminated the climb procedure at 8850 feet. Following a short period of manoeuvring off the coast, the aircraft then initiated a return.

The aircraft conducting the AI802 service to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport was an Airbus A320-200, registered VT-EXD.

This is an 8.8-year-old narrowbody aircraft belonging to the carrier air India. It has been in service with the airline since its initial delivery in September 2015.

There is a known risk of bird strikes in the Trivandrum region, especially near the Trivandrum International Airport. In fact, bird strikes are a persistent problem for the airport.

Here are some reasons why there is a high risk of bird strikes in Trivandrum:

• Illegal slaughterhouses and poultry waste dumping: These activities attract birds to the area around the airport.
• Ineffectiveness of current deterrents: The airport uses firecrackers to scare away birds, but they appear to have become accustomed to the noise.

There have been a number of bird strike incidents reported in recent years, with 48 reported in 2023 alone.

Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly Emergencies and Incidents newsletter.