Plane strikes bird on take-off, delays flight

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/20/2009 2:34 PM

A Sriwijaya Air jetliner was forced to cancel its take-off after hitting a bird just before take-off at Radin Inten Airport in Bandar Lampung, Lampung, on Friday morning, tempointeraktif.com reports.

The Boeing 737-200 jet was in the process of taking off at around 10 a.m., when crew and passengers heard an explosion, which was immediately followed by the plane tilting to one side.

Pilot Heryawan decided to cancel the take-off. After a 20-minute inspection, a team of engineers found the charred remains of a bird inside the jet engine.

"It was confirmed that the small explosion was caused by the bird," airport head Dharmadji said, adding that "there wasn't any serious damage".

The plane eventually departed at 11 a.m., carrying 111 passengers. (dre)