Birds pose a serious risk to flights in the skies of Pokhara

A video clip showcasing a bird hit an aircraft of Buddha Air is going viral on social media

POKHARA, Feb 22: His real name is Ishwar KC, but on social media, his name is 'Ishu Bro'. A video shot by KC on Monday afternoon is now viral on social media. The video is related to the air hazard caused by birds in Pokhara.

The Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA), which came into operation on January 1, has been repeatedly stating that it faces the risk of birds. Earlier, on January 16, a bird collided with a plane while landing at the airport. While complaints were being raised that birds could pose a risk to flights, on Monday, KC accidentally captured a video of a bird colliding with an aircraft of Buddha Air while landing at the airport.

The video, which was shot at 3:24 PM, shows the bird collide with the aircraft. After that, the bird is also seen falling to the ground in the video. The place where the bird fell is 'green' of the golf course, where golfers were training. The golfers also saw the bird collide with the aircraft. They also informed the media that the bird had collided with the aircraft.

In the video taken by KC, people can be heard talking to each other as the bird falls to the ground after colliding with the aircraft. Children on the golf course are seen running to catch the fallen bird. They also tried to make the bird fly. It is also seen that a child hangs the bird by hand after it does not fly away.

This incident happened on Monday, at a time when complaints that flights to and from PRIA face a risk due to the activities of birds around the airport. "Because of the birds, there is a problem every day. Sometimes birds come near the plane during take-off and sometimes during landing,” said the station manager of an airline company in Pokhara, “There are more birds due to the garbage that is thrown in the river and canal near the airport. Pokhara’s skies are risky for planes due to the birds.”

Buddha Air's Information Officer Dipendra Karna said that after watching Monday's video, he asked the station manager of the Pokhara office about it, but he got a reply that there was no information about the bird hitting the plane. "We looked everywhere, including the aircraft's wings and propellers, but there was no sign of a collision with a bird," he said. Karna speculated that the wind speed and the sound of the aircraft might have caused the birds flying nearby to be startled and fall. He said that the risk caused by birds could increase if garbage is thrown randomly in the canals and rivers near the airport.

Similarly, Bikram Gautam, head of PRIA, claimed that there is no truth in the viral video of the bird colliding with the plane and falling to the ground. “I also watched this video, we must be serious about it. After watching the video, I also asked the tower and the airline company. However, there is no confirmation from anywhere," said Gautam.

"If the bird collided with the aircraft, the bird would not have fallen completely as the bird would shatter into pieces.” He said that the bird did not collide with the aircraft, but the air pressure of the aircraft may have killed the bird. “An aircraft with a powerful engine emits hot air as it flies. At times, the hot air can even lift the tarmac of the runway and even break the branches of the trees. If the bird had hit, the airplane would have been affected somewhere," he said. Gautam said that the bird activity in the sky above the airport has been decreasing for the past few days.

According to golfer Bhuvan Gurung, golf training was taking place under the sky when the bird collided with the plane. At the same time, he said that he saw the bird collide with the plane. Gurung said that other golfers were also eyewitnesses. According to him, the bird's wings were torn apart after it collided with the aircraft. He said that the body of the bird fell to the ground immediately and the wings a little later. Only one bird in particular has been hit. "We heard the sound of the bird hitting the plane," Gurung said.

"I shared the video to ensure air safety"

KC, who captured the video of the bird collision with the aircraft on Monday, lives in Birauta, Pokhara. He used to see planes take off and land over his house when the old airport was operational. After the PRIA came into operation, no air flights have taken place from the skies of KC’s area. Some land of businessman KC is in the Rithapani area. KC had gone to his Rithapani land with his wife on Monday. At that time he said that he recorded that video.

"After the new airport came into operation, the sky of Birauta has become deserted. I came to Rithepani on Monday afternoon, when I saw an aircraft flying above, I got a glimpse of a bird, then I started taking a video with my mobile phone,'' he said, "While taking the video, the bird collided with the aircraft. I posted the same video on social media.”

According to him, after seeing the bird that had collided with the aircraft fall, the workers who were filling the nets on the river bank also ran away. "I did not shoot the video to spoil anyone. It's just a coincidence. I shared the video thinking that at least the flights to Pokhara should be safe," he said, "I don't want to defame anyone. I think that such incidents should not be hidden and should be brought out and the problem should be solved.”