It’s a bird! It’s a plane… oh, wait. It’s a bird… on a plane.
According to a Nola.com report, a Southwest Airlines flight departing from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) Wednesday turned right back around after a bird flew into it during departure.
“Flight 554 out of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was heading to Tampa Bay at about 2:30 p.m.,” said the report. It also noted that Southwest Airlines officials said the captain followed proper procedures by returning to the airport.
Per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife strikes cause upwards of $900 million in damages to U.S. civil and military aircraft annually and 250 people have been killed worldwide due to wildlife-plane collisions since 1988.
“Because planes fly at such high speed, the damage from collision with birds, especially large birds, or groups of birds that enter an engine or windshield, can be devastating,” the service explained. “Although collisions between birds and airplanes can occur at any time, the majority are relatively low altitudes during take-off and landing. During flight, many planes, especially commercial jets, fly at higher altitudes than birds.”
Erin Burns, director of communications at the New Orleans Aviation Board, said the New Orleans airport runways were closed briefly after the Wednesday incident so crews could “clean up debris,” Nola.com reported. She said that other flights out of MSY experienced delays or diversions, but both runways were reopened as of 5 p.m.
Passengers from the impacted flight were moved to a different aircraft. Nola.com said Southwest was working with the 164 impacted customers regarding their travel plans as of 4:30 p.m.
“We commend the swift, professional actions of our flight crew in response to the event. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement.
A similar incident happened earlier this year when a Delta flight headed from JFK Airport in New York to the Bahamas hit a bird moments after takeoff. It was forced to return to the airport said Audacy station 1010 WINS, citing the Federal Aviation administration.