Turkish Airlines flight number 606 has Tuesday morning been forced to make emergency landing at Entebbe airport after sever bird strike.
The incident happened a few minutes after the airplane took off from Entebbe with 280 passengers onboard.
But as procedure, the pilot had to return to the ground for engine check-up to ensure safety of all people on board.
Before landing the plane had to fly around Kampala and Entebbe for over an hour to burn fuel to achieve the right weight for landing.
According to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, the regulator of the aviation industry in Uganda, “On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, a Turkish Airlines flight number 606 departed Entebbe at 7.30 am for Istanbul while it was raining. Unfortunately, the aircraft experienced a bird strike during take-off.”
UCAA added that, “As a precautionary measure, the flight hovered in the Ugandan airspace before landing safely at Ebb at 08:52 am. The aircraft is being checked for airworthiness before resuming the flight.”
As the plane circled the skies of Kampala, aviation enthusiasts correctly observed that it was trying to burn fuel. ” Turkish 606 Entebbe to Istanbul appears to be having a problem. FR24 shows it flying a holding pattern a round Entebbe more than 40 minutes sometimes since take-off. Probably reducing weight for a return to base since the A330 doesn’t have fuel dumping capability.”
By press time, the plane was ready for takeoff to Istanbul.
