‘Near death experience’ after bird strike batters plane with 227 passengers

The nose of the Airbus A321 was damaged following a suspected bird hit (Picture: SWNS)

An IndiGo flight carrying 227 passengers was forced to declare a mid-air emergency after its nose cone was torn apart.

Halfway into the journey from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to Srinagar the Airbus A321 was battered by a violent hailstorm.

What began as a routine flight quickly turned into a nightmare as the plane then began rattling by severe turbulence.

It was...