Kathmandu: Pigeon Strike Causes Minor Damage to Turkish Airlines Aircraft at Tribhuvan Airport, Flights Disrupted

A Turkish Airlines aircraft sustained minor damage after a pigeon struck it at Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning, according to reports by Xinhua and The Kathmandu Post, and flights at the airport were disrupted. The Kathmandu Post said the damage was to a light on the aircraft's nose landing gear as it was landing; Xinhua reported minor damage to the landing gear as the plane moved toward the taxiway.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk21 October 20262 min readRead in all 3 languages

A Turkish Airlines aircraft sustained minor damage after a pigeon struck it at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday morning, October 21, according to two separate reports.

The Kathmandu Post reported that the aircraft sustained minor damage to a light on its nose landing gear after a pigeon struck the plane as it was landing at the airport, in a report published on Wednesday under the headline that the bird strike disrupted flights at Kathmandu airport.

News agency Xinhua, in its own report from Kathmandu on Wednesday, said the Turkish Airlines aircraft sustained minor damage to its landing gear after a pigeon struck the plane while it was moving toward the taxiway at the airport on Wednesday morning, citing a senior official.

Both reports described the damage as minor. Neither report, in the versions available at the time of writing, gave a flight number, passenger numbers, or any report of injuries, and Awaaz Punjab is not adding those details. Tribhuvan International Airport is Nepal's main international gateway, so even a minor incident involving a foreign carrier's aircraft draws an operational response and inspection before further movement.