American Airlines leaving New York City diverted after apparent collision with bird
An apparent collision with a bird Thursday diverted an American Airlines flight bound for North Carolina back to New York City.
American Airlines Flight 1722, an Airbus AA321, departed New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) about 7:21 p.m. Thursday, bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), the Port Authority New York and New Jersey told Paste BN.
The plane was diverted to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) after a reported bird strike, according to American Airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified LGA about 7:43 p.m. Thursday that the flight was being diverted to the JFK Airport due to a reported bird strike, the port authority said.
After the aircraft of 190 passengers and six crew members safely landed at the JFK Airport, it was inspected by the American Airlines maintenance team. The airport’s runway was closed for about 10 minutes, the port authority said.
American Airlines flight reportedly struck by bird landed safely with no injuries
No injuries were reported, American Airlines said.
“We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused,” the airline said in a statement.
American Airlines said the passengers were provided overnight hotel accommodations Thursday and the flight departed Friday, landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport just before noon ET.
The FAA told Paste BN it is investigating the incident.
Aircraft collisions with birds, wildlife remain common
Since the Miracle on the Hudson in 2009, which involved a US Airways jet hitting a flock of Canada geese as it departed LaGuardia Airport, the FAA has put $30 million into research into radar and scanner systems to help detect birds in the path of aircraft.
Reports of animal strikes jumped after that incident, in which pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed the aircraft in the Hudson River and everyone on board survived. And have continued to rise every year until a decline in air travel in 2020 during the pandemic. Much of the increase came from better reporting by pilots, tower personnel, mechanics and others, officials said.
Contributing: Doug Caruso.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at Paste BN. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, food recalls, health, lottery, and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.