A German plane, Condor Flight, was on Tuesday morning forced to abort its trip from Moi International Airport in Mombasa over a mechanical problem.
It is suspected the hitch on one of the plane’s engines was caused by a bird strike, claims that the airport management denied.
The Boeing 767 was forced to cut short the trip to Zanzibar. The passengers retreated back to their hotels and were told to wait for further communication from the airline.
“The pilot was about to take off at around 0822 hours when he noticed the problem,” airport manager Walter Agong said.
Sources said that crows flew into one of the plane’s engines.
However, Agong said the plane had not taken off when the pilot noticed the problem.
“The pilot was on the runway ready to take off when he noticed a mechanical problem with the engine forcing him to abort the take-off,” he said.
“We have launched a further investigation to know what the exact problem is. We have ruled out bird strike because the plane had not taken off. It was still on the runway.”
