Passengers on an AirAsia flight had a narrow escape after it was bird-hit just before takeoff from Birsa Munda Airport here around noon on Saturday.

The Ranchi-Mumbai AirAsia flight was taxiing on the runway for takeoff when it was suddenly hit by a bird at around 11.45am. But the pilots were able to stop the aircraft and they returned to the apron area for a check-up.

“There were 176 passengers and seven crew members aboard the Mumbai-bound AirAsia flight,” airport director Vinod Sharma said, adding the aircraft was brought back for another round of check-up.

After it was attended by the technical team and found to be airworthy, the pilots attempted another takeoff around 4.15pm but they returned the second time as well.

“The pilots reported some sparks while applying the throttle for accelerating the aircraft before taking off,” Sharma said. He said the technical department would check the aircraft again to find out if there was any fault.

It could not be immediately ascertained if the aircraft flew again.“Another aircraft is coming from Calcutta for flying the passengers to Mumbai,” the airport director told this newspaper around 5.15pm.

Incidents of bird-hit are not frequent in Ranchi, an airport official said. The official said the Ranchi Municipal Corporation and the district administration had earlier undertaken a drive for removing meat and fish stalls in the vicinity of the airport so that leftovers from those stalls did not attract crows and other birds.

The incident occurred just a day after at least 17 people died when an Air India Express repatriation flight from Dubai skidded off a wet tabletop runway, dropped 40 feet, smashed into a wall and broke into two after landing during heavy rain at the Calicut International Airport in north Kerala on Friday night.