Plane forced to make emergency landing back to Entebbe Airport after crashing into birds during take off

ENTEBBE — A Turkish plane has been forced to hover in the Ugandan space for over an hour and later make an emergency landing after it flew into birds during take-off.

The Turkish Airlines Flight Number 606 was taking off from Entebbe International Airport on Tuesday morning to Turkish Capital, Istanbul when it was by the flock, according to a spokesperson for the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, Vianney Luggya.

“On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, a Turkish Airlines flight number 606 departed Entebbe at 7.30 am for Istanbul while it was raining. Unfortunately, the aircraft experienced a bird strike during take-off,” Luggya said in a statement shared with this website.

As a precautionary measure, he said the flight hovered in the Ugandan airspace before landing safely at Entebbe at 08:52 am.

Luggya said the aircraft is being checked for airworthiness before resuming the flight.

There were no reported injuries of those on board, though the same likely can’t be said for the birds.