An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at JFK Airport shortly after takeoff following a reported bird strike on Thursday, December 12.
According to ABC6 Action News and WCNC reporter Vanessa Ruffes, a passenger on the flight captured the moment the bird appeared to hit one of the plane’s engines.
The video — which was taken on a flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport — was posted to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
It showed buildings illuminated on the ground below moments before a flash of light came from the plane’s engine.
An American Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport in February 2024.
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I survived a bird that broke through the windshield of my plane and crashed into my head mid-flight
The flight to Charlotte, North Carolina took off from LaGuardia just after 7 p.m. local time with 190 passengers and six crew members on board, the airline confirmed to PEOPLE.
Only one engine could be used after the incident caused the Airbus A321 to divert to JFK, according to ABC6 Action News,
According to the outlet, the pilot reported to ATC, “Looks like we’re having engine trouble, but we’re still working to figure out what’s going on… We hit birds on takeoff.”
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“American Airlines Flight 1722 from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Charlotte (CLT) was diverted to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) due to a reported bird strike,” American Airlines confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE.
“The aircraft has landed safely at JFK where it will be inspected by our maintenance team. We are grateful to our staff for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
There were no reports of injuries in the incident, the airline added.
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Passengers have been provided with hotel accommodation with plans to re-depart the flight on the morning of Friday, December 13.
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