Birdstrike Grounds AirAsia Plane

Fliers in Thailand – where the word for bird is “nok” – thought Air Asia bird strike was in fact a collision with a Nok Air plane.

A collision between a Thai Air Asia aircraft and a bird sparked confusion today, with social media users initially believing the plane had struck another aircraft, operated by Nok Air.

The mix-up stemmed from the fact that “nok” is the Thai word for bird.

Within hours of the incident, Nok Air issued a statement on Twitter to explain that none of its fleet had been involved.

“We would like to clarify that Nok Air did not clip another aircraft today,” it said. “The other aircraft suffered a bird (real ones) strike.”