Hours after takeoff, the plane was forced to reroute and return to its departure airport after a horse broke loose in the trunk.
The Boeing 747 took off from New York’s JFK Airport on Nov. 9, and after reaching 31,000 feet, the crew requested a change to the flight plan because one of the 15 horses in the hold came loose, CNN reported.
The plane was operated by the Icelandic company Air Atlanta, the Associated Press reports. PEOPLE reached out to Air Atlanta Icelandic for comment on the incident, but did not immediately hear back.
In a recording of the crew’s call to Air Traffic Control shared on YouTube, one of the pilots said they had no problem “flying wisely” but were unable to “secure” the horse after it broke loose.
According to John Cuticelli, president of ARK, an animal export and quarantine company at JFK, there was turbulence and the horse “jumped and managed to get his two front legs over the (front) barrier” of his holding barn “and then it got stuck,” according to CNN.
The horse was then hanging over the barrier, with its front legs on one side and its hind legs still inside the barrier.
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After landing, the animal was met by an emergency response team, but the other 14 horses had to be extricated to “bring in equipment to extract the horses,” Cuticelli said.
“We have separated veterinary care, animal handlers, medical equipment, horse harnesses, horse ambulances, everything needed to house that horse,” he told the media.
After the horse was pulled out, the injuries it sustained were too severe and it was euthanized, he said.
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The plane took off again for Liège, Belgium, its original destination, shortly after the horse was taken care of.
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