When flying over Indian skies, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a bane

Birds and sundry animals pose a permanent safety hazard at Indian airports built near densely populated areas

On June 19, a SpiceJet plane carrying 191 people that had just taken off from the Patna airport had sparks and smoke coming out of one of its engines below the left wing. Captain Monica Khanna took the plane back to Patna airport. An inspection after landing showed a bird had gone inside Engine 1 and damaged three of its fan blades. Khanna’s feat and photo spread far and wide on social media.

The same day, an IndiGo plane returned to the Guwahati airport soon after take-off because of a suspected bird hit. Six days later, last Sunday, a helicopter