KATHMANDU — A pigeon struck a Turkish Airlines aircraft as it landed at Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday morning, damaging a light on the nose landing gear and closing the airport for more than an hour, an airport official said.
The strike happened at 6:36 a.m. as the aircraft was on its approach to land. An inspection found minor damage to the light attached to the nose landing gear, the official said. The landing gear itself was not damaged.
The airport stayed closed until 7:48 a.m. while the runway was cleaned and the bird’s remains were removed.
An airside official said the cleanup took longer because the staff responsible for the work were on leave and were not immediately available.
The number of passengers on board at the time was not immediately available. The aircraft was scheduled to carry 71 passengers on its departing flight, according to the report.
Airport officials said the aircraft was ready to resume operations after the inspection.
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