new york city – An American Airlines passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport due to a possible bird strike shortly after takeoff, officials said.
American Airlines Flight 1722 had taken off from LaGuardia Airport, and was headed to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, when it was diverted to JFK Airport just after 10 p.m. local time due to a “bird strike report.” The airline confirmed to CBS. News in a statement.
There were no reports of injuries among the approximately 200 people on board the Airbus A321.
“We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this caused,” the airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident and said in a statement that it was investigating.
Cell phone video provided to CBS News captured a flash of what appeared to be birds striking one of the plane's engines.
“The pilots are certainly trained to fly on the same engines, so everything is working the same way it should yesterday evening,” Robert Sumwalt, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told CBS News on Friday. “should work.”
Back in 2009,”miracle on the hudson“It involved a bird strike, and a plane taking the same route as Thursday's American Airlines jet. All 155 people on board were rescued in that incident, and pilot Sully Sullenberger became an instant aviation hero.
more than 19,000 bird strike More than 700 airports across the U.S. were reported in 2023, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. maintains a database Where it records the collision between aircraft and wildlife.
In April, a bird strike An American Airlines flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Phoenix, Arizona, was forced to return to Columbus about 30 minutes after takeoff due to an engine fire.
“Birds are still flying, and they'll always be flying, and airplanes will always be flying,” Sumwalt said. “So the trick is to keep those two separate.”
