Bangalore, March 27: Black Dog almost sent Kingfisher hurtling towards a tragedy tonight.

A Kingfisher Airlines flight ran into a stray dog at Bangalore airport and broke the nose wheel seconds before take-off, causing mild injury to two passengers and several tense moments.

All 29 passengers and crew of the Hyderabad-bound flight were unscathed but for the two who tumbled during the emergency evacuation and sustained minor sprain, according to a Kingfisher Airlines statement. The two passengers were treated at a hospital in the city.

The dog – black, according to the airline – crossed the runway when the aircraft was on its take-off roll. The runway was dimly lit and the crew did not notice the animal till it was too late to take evasive action, the statement added.

The colour of the dog must have made detection more difficult. Black Dog should ring a bell for Vijay Mallya, the Kingfisher boss and the merchant of good times, but it is not associated with anything remotely grim as the events that unfolded tonight. Mallya’s UB Group owns Black Dog, the scotch whisky.

Mallya was quick to respond to the close shave of his passengers and crew.

“It is most unfortunate that the dog menace at airports in India still persists and that an incident occurred today in Bangalore,” he said in a release.

The liquor-cum-airline baron has a point. Stray dogs often enter the runway of the Bangalore airport, maintained by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and located close to the city centre.

Guards chasing dogs and shooing away birds with airguns are a common sight at the airport, widely regarded as among India’s worst for its lack of infrastructure. In 1990, an Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai undershot the runway by about 1,000 feet under clear skies and crashed into a reservoir, killing 92 people.

The airport is expected to be closed down for civil aviation from May 10. The new airport at Devanahalli, which was earlier scheduled to have started operations from March 31, will operate from May 11.

Mallya said all passengers would be provided with transport and hotel accommodation in Bangalore and offered seats on a Kingfisher Airlines flight of their choice to Hyderabad.

The small ATR-72 plane shook violently after it slammed into the dog but the pilot fought for control and managed to bring it to a halt on the lone runway itself.

The incident occurred around 9.50pm and brought all operations to a halt at the HAL airport.

Bangalore airport director Narendra Kaushal said the aircraft came to a standstill because of the nose wheel collapse. “It was not a crash landing,” he said. Late tonight, the runway was cleared of the stricken plane and other flights resumed services.

The black dog died.