KUALA LUMPUR 5 July 2017: Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia X has said that a flight from Australia to Malaysia was diverted and was forced to land in Brisbane because an engine was damaged during take-off by what was thought to be a bird strike.
AirAsia X Flight D7207 was carrying 345 passengers and 14 crew when it took off from the Gold Coast tourist hub in northern Queensland state en-route to Kuala Lumpur late on Monday, it said.
There were no reports of any injuries in the incident and AirAsia X did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
AirAsia said in a statement on its official Twitter account that the flight was diverted “after experiencing a suspected bird strike to its starboard engine shortly after takeoff”.
“Two birds’ remains were found on the runway,” it said.
Passengers said the plane began shaking shortly after take-off.
By Sheena Amos