NAGPUR, MAY 1:In less than two months after an Indigo flight passengers had a providential escape when a deer came in its way during take-off, an Indian Air Force flight had a similar experience at Nagpur’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport on Wednesday.

The IL-76 flight was on a training sortie when it encountered two pigs, earlier suspected to be wild boars, while landing around 12.30 am.

Airport Manager BN Borkar confirmed the incident. “But they were not wild boars; they were domesticated pigs. The landing was normal and the pilot also did not report anything wrong,” he said.

The airport spread over 700 acres has a forest-like growth of vegetation which serves as a breeding ground for animals like cheetals, blue bull and wild boar. The virtual sanctuary has been posing a grave threat to the safety of the passengers using the airport. The first incident involving wild boar had happened in August 2007. On March 8 this year, Indigo’s Pune-New Delhi flight (6E 136) with nearly 135 passengers aboard had crushed a deer on the runway.

Adjacent to the airport is IAF’s transport aircraft wing hub Gajraj,where IL-76 and other transport planes are on regular training sorties.

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