An unusual incident occurred at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport. After landing, a pilot reported seeing a duck on the runway to the air traffic control tower, prompting teams to take immediate action and briefly suspend flight operations.
Following the landing, the pilot contacted the tower via radio and said, “Sir, after landing we saw a duck on the runway, for your information.” In response to this alert, air traffic control immediately dispatched runway inspection teams. At the same time, another aircraft waiting to land was held in a short delay as a precaution.
The radio exchange during the incident was recorded as follows:
Pilot: Sir, after landing we saw a duck on the runway, for your information.
Tower: Can we confirm it’s on the runway, sir?
Pilot: Confirmed.
After inspections revealed no threat, flight operations quickly returned to normal. Officials noted that birds and other wildlife can pose risks to flight safety, and stated that regular inspections continue to prevent such incidents.
