A Kenya Airways (KQ) flight landed safely at Kisumu International Airport Thursday evening after a bird strike.
The steering components of the plane were affected, but no one was injured in the incident involving KQ Flight 670, which had departed the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi at 5:25 PM, said the airline.
“The aircraft landed safely in Kisumu. However, it was not able to exit the runway fully as the bird strike affected the aircraft steering components,” KQ said in a statement.
“All passengers and crew onboard since disembarked the aircraft and are safe,” it added.
Narrating the ordeal, journalist Chemutai Goin, who was among the passengers on that Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 plane, said they encountered the bird strike in their third attempt to land after a disruption due to inclement weather.
“On the third landing attempt, we struck a bird. We finally landed, but the aircraft was inoperable, so we waited to be towed from the runway, but the bird was lodged in the steering system, so it could not turn, ” said Ms Goin, a former parliamentary and political reporter with Citizen TV.
At the time of reporting, Kenya Airways was working closely with relevant aviation authorities to remove the aircraft, which was still stuck on the runway, disrupting several flight schedules.
“Passengers on affected flights will be provided with updated travel information and assistance as needed,” it said.
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