NEW YORK (AP) — A bird strike disabled one of the two engines of an American Airlines jet shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York, forcing the aircraft to return and make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials reported on Friday.
The incident occurred on Thursday as the Airbus A321, with 190 passengers and six crew members on board, departed LaGuardia at 7:43 p.m. The pilot, en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, communicated the emergency situation to air traffic control just nine minutes after takeoff. “Mayday mayday mayday American 1722 engine failure,” he radioed, as documented in air traffic communications recordings.
“It appears we have an engine failure, but we’re still kind of working through to figure out what’s going on. We hit birds on the way out,” the pilot explained, as captured by LiveATC.net. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the pilot declared an emergency at 7:52 p.m., requesting clearance for an urgent landing at Kennedy. “American 1722, we’re in an emergency, can you just clear us to land please without having to worry about departing traffic?” he pleaded.
The aircraft landed safely at 8:03 p.m. and was able to taxi to the terminal under its own power, with no injuries reported among the passengers or crew, according to airline officials. Maintenance crews were promptly assigned to inspect the aircraft.
American Airlines expressed gratitude for the professionalism of its crew in a statement, adding, “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused.” Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it is launching an investigation into the incident.
Bird strikes have been becoming more frequent, with the FAA reporting a record of 19,400 incidents across 713 airports in the U.S. last year. However, such strikes rarely result in severe damage that necessitates emergency landings.
This incident draws parallels to the famous “Miracle on the Hudson,” where a US Airways flight leaving LaGuardia also struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff on January 15, 2009. That plane lost power in both engines, but pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger successfully landed it in the Hudson River, saving all 155 aboard.
