More than 100 passengers had a narrow escape when a Mumbai-bound Indian aircraft suffered a bird hit and four of its tyres got deflated while taking off at the Biju Patnaik airport here this afternoon, official sources said. The Airbus-320, with 114 passengers on board, was speeding down the runway for take off when the bird was sucked into one of the engines. The pilots applied the emergency brakes bringing the aircraft to halt and four of the tyres got deflated in the process, the sources said. ‘‘It was a bird hit. The four tyres had been deflated,’’ P C Sahu, airport manager, said. ‘‘It was an awesome experience when the speeding aircraft suddenly applied the brake. But the passengers were not hurt’’, Kartikeya Mishra, who was on the flight, said.
