Passengers on a flight departing from New York’s LaGuardia Airport experienced a frightening situation when a bird strike occurred, leading the pilot to make an emergency landing at JFK Airport.
Officials say the American Airlines flight took off from LaGuardia just after 7 p.m. Thursday heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Just a few minutes into the flight, a bird struck one of the engines and damaged it.
The pilot communicated to Air Traffic Control (ATC) that there seemed to be an engine issue caused by hitting birds during takeoff. They were still assessing the situation to determine the extent of the problem.
The flight was forced to redirect to JFK Airport using just one engine.
The Airbus A321 was able to land safely at the airport
There were 190 customers and six crew members on board. No one was injured.
American Airlines provided a statement regarding the incident involving Flight 1722 from LaGuardia to Charlotte, explaining that it was redirected to JFK Airport after a bird strike was reported. The aircraft landed safely at JFK, where it will undergo inspection by the maintenance team. The airline expressed gratitude for the professionalism of the crew and offered apologies to passengers for any disruptions caused by the event.
The flight was set to re-depart on Friday morning. Customers were put up in a local hotel.
The emergency landing was a bit reminiscent of the Miracle on the Hudson back in 2009.
That flight also took off from LaGuardia Airport and was headed to Seattle with a scheduled stop in Charlotte, when a bird strike knocked out power to both of its engines.
Passengers on that flight were saved when pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger was able to glide and safely land the plane in the Hudson River.
Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
