Bird strike stops flight from Zamboanga to Manila

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Manila early yesterday was canceled after birds got sucked into the plane’s engine.

The 6 a.m. flight had to be canceled to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, officials said.

Celso Bayabos, Civil Aviation Authority manager, said Flight PR 124 of the airline, using an Airbus, was about to take off from the city airport when birds flew into its path and got sucked in one of the plane’s jet engines.

Bayabos said the engine suffered a still undetermined amount of damage and technicians had been called.

The stranded passengers were to be accommodated in PAL’s afternoon flight, also yesterday, for Manila.

In Cotabato City on Sept. 13, a flock of birds flying above the runway also prompted Cebu Pacific to delay its Cotabato-Manila flight by more than four hours.

Bird strikes are common in Philippine airports and have disrupted flights in the country’s premier airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in recent months. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao