180 passengers on board Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH114 met with a scare when the aircraft was was hit by a flock of birds when attempting to land at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu, on Friday.

 

MAS in a statement this evening confirmed the incident: "Upon landing, the aircraft was inspected by the engineer on duty. It was found that the aircraft’s landing light lens cover was broken.

"The aircraft was grounded for the night and the broken lens was subsequently replaced," it said.

 

However, the airline denied reports that the collision caused the aircraft's windshield to be break.

 

The confirmation only came two days, following a Kathmandu Post report today quoting airport officials about the incident.

 

"Upon inspection, TIA officials found at least 10 dead ducks along with pieces of glass on the runway. The debris was cleared and airport resumed its normal operations after half an hour. 

 

"The officials found two more dead ducks during a routine inspection early on Saturday morning," the report said.

 

The report said more than 75 incidences of birds striking airplanes during take-offs and landings has happened at TIA since 1990 with three considered serious.

 

While a Thai Airways Airbus A300 in 1996 and a Bangladesh Biman DC-10 in 2010 escaped without incident,19 people were killed when a Sita Air Dornier crashed in September 2012, it revealed.

 

The Friday incident is unrelated to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which disappeared from civilian radar on March 8 and remains lost 16 days later, despite extensive a multinational search operation involving 26 countries.