Kolkata: Air India flight with 254 onboard suffers bird hit, passengers safe

Representational image. PTI[/caption]"The pilot of the (AI-401, DEL-CCU) aircraft reported a bird hit. The aircraft's left engine has been damaged," an Air India official told IANS in New Delhi.The aircraft was grounded till further inspection and repair, he added.The official said that all the 244 passengers and 10 crew members were reported to be safe on landing in Kolkata a little after 9 am.As a result, the Kolkata-Delhi return flight, that was scheduled to take off at 10.15 a.m., was delayed and will now take off at 5.30 p.m."We are arranging an alternative aircraft for flying out the passengers," another spokesman added in Kolkata.The return flight will ferry 240 passengers on the Kolkata-Delhi route.