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New Delhi: A Kingfisher Airlines aircraft on Thursday hit a dog on the runway at the Bangalore Airport during its takeoff causing the nose landing gear to collapse.

The aircraft, having never left the ground, came to a halt on the runway and the crew performed an emergency evacuation of the 25 passengers on board. Two guests stumbled whilst evacuating and sustained minor sprains while all others are safe.

“I am happy that all guests on board our flight are safe. It is most unfortunate that the dog-menace at airports in India still persists and that an incident occurred today in Bangalore,” Chairman and CEO Kingfisher Airlines Dr Vijay Mallya said.

“All guests travelling on this flight will be provided with transport and hotel Accommodation in Bangalore as required and offered seats on a Kingfisher Airlines flight of their choice to Hyderabad," Mallya assured.

The ATR was under the command of Captain Mmopi who has over 11,000 hours of flying experience, according to a press release by the airlines

According to the commander, a black dog crossed the runway whilst the aircraft was on its takeoff roll, and because the runway is dimly lit, the crew did not notice the animal till it was too late to take evasive action.

The aircraft is disabled and will have to be jacked up and towed off the runway. The Kingfisher Airlines Flight Safety Team is already on the spot and will conduct a full investigation in conjunction with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and airport authorities.

The HAL airport was closed to all outgoing and incoming flights till the runway was cleared. The two injured passengers were taken to hospital.

Operations at the airport finally resumed at about 0130 hrs IST on Friday morning.

Two flights, IC 771 (Kolkata-Bangalore) and IC 904 (Delhi-Bangalore) were diverted to Chennai due to runway closure.

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