Plane crashes into stray buffalo during take-off

A SpiceJet plane crashed into a stray buffalo during take-off from Surat, although no passengers or crew were hurt, the plane’s operator said yesterday.

The airline was forced to ground the Boeing 737 which suffered “substantial damages”, it said.

SpiceJet said the buffalo, which was killed in the accident on Thursday evening, was “essentially invisible” against a dark background. Passengers on the Delhi-bound aircraft were transferred to another plane, SpiceJet said.