Birds Force Lufthansa Plane to Return to Beirut Airport

A Lufthansa plane was forced to return to Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on Tuesday after a flock of birds caused damaged to one of its engines, reported the National News Agency.

It said that flight 1307, which had departed the airport at 4:48 a.m., was forced to return three minutes after takeoff.

The pilot informed the airport authorities that he was returning to the facility after the plane encountered a flock of birds while flying over the Mediterranean.

The engine incurred great damage and broke down, said NNA.

The plane returned safely to the airport at 5:04 a.m. along with its 148 passengers.

It is currently undergoing maintenance operations at the airport.

Director General of Lebanese Civil Aviation, Daniel al-Haiby, later told NNA that such accidents are frequent this time of year because migrant birds are returning to Lebanon.

The concerned authorities at the airport perform routine procedures to keep birds away from the facility through specialized equipment, he added.

He noted however that sometimes the birds fly at altitudes that cannot be reached by this equipment, which consequently leads to accidents such as the one with the Lufthansa plane.

Such incidents take place at airports all over the world, Haiby said.

M.T.

Y.R.