Air India palne’s engine blade found damaged ahead of takeoff at Kolkata Airport

One of the engine blades of an Air India plane was found to be damaged after it landed in Kolkata on Monday morning, said officials who suspect that it was caused by a bird hit.

A blade on the right engine of the plane, Airbus A320, which arrived here from Mumbai, was found to be bent during checks after boarding was complete for its return journey, they said.

Air India flight AI675 landed in Kolkata around 8.20 am, after taking off from Mumbai at 6.16 am, they said. For its return journey to Mumbai, a total of 119 passengers boarded the plane (AI676) from Kolkata.

There were also six cabin crew on the plane, which was preparing to take off when the damage was detected, they added.

The passengers were made to deboard the plane, which then underwent repairs.

The passengers went to Mumbai on the same flight around 1 pm, officials said.