Delta plane's wing clips runway at LaGuardia Airport
A regional jet operating a flight for Delta Air Lines had its wing clip the runway at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday while executing a routine maneuver as it prepared to land.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident and confirmed the details of what happened.
"The left-wing of Endeavor Air Flight 4814 struck the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York while the pilot was executing a go-around due to an unstable approach. The incident occurred around 10:10 p.m. local time on Sunday, March 16," the agency said in a statement.
The plane was en route to New York from Jacksonville, Florida.
Delta also acknowledged the incident in a statement and said the aircraft has been pulled from service for evaluation by its maintenance teams.
“The Endeavor Air flight crew followed established procedures to safely enact a go-around at New York-LaGuardia. The aircraft landed safely and proceeded to its arrival gate. We apologize to our customers for the experience," Delta's statement said.
Go-arounds are fairly common in commercial flights. When a pilot determines the plane can't safely land in given flight conditions, they are empowered to abort the landing and try again. Because go-arounds often involve rapid climb and acceleration, they can be jarring for passengers, but pilots are trained to execute them safely.
Air traffic controllers can also call for a go-around if they are concerned about the conditions for landing.
The plane was carrying 76 passengers and four crewmembers, and no injuries were reported.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for Paste BN. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.