Stray dog forces flight to abort take-off

Panaji: A stray dog sprinted across the runway of the Goa International Airport at Dabolim, just as IndiGo flight 6E 458 was taking off for Mumbai forcing the pilot to abort the takeoff, sending the plane skidding as the pilot struggled to regain control.

The pilot managed to bring the aircraft to a halt but as a precaution the aircraft had to be turned back to the parking bay for some tyres to be replaced, Goa airport officials said.

The 100-odd passengers aboard the aircraft had a lucky escape as no further mishap occured, though the flight was delayed for nearly two and a half hours.

"There was a dog on the runway because of which an IndiGo flight had to abort the takeoff," an Airports Authority of India official said. "The pilot alerted the ground staff and engineer and all passengers were informed of the situation and then deplaned."

The IndiGo aircraft operating flight 6E-468 started its takeoff roll around 5.30pm, when the dog strayed on to the runway.

"The pilot braked violently, we went right and left but finally stopped. We were brought back to the tarmac and they told us that the rear tyres had given up," a senior executive with a corporate firm said.

Officials said that the aircraft suffered no structural damage and that the aircraft engineers had inspected the aircraft and cleared it for takeoff.

"Dogs keep coming onto the apron. Security has been increased to prevent such incidents from happening," the AAI official said.

The aircraft finally departed at 8.08 pm and landed in Mumbai at 9:38 pm.