KENNER, La. (AP) — A Delta Air Lines plane with 190 people on board safely landed in New Orleans after striking birds shortly after takeoff.
Delta Flight 1053 returned Monday morning to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said airport spokeswoman Michelle Wilcut. The Boeing 757 was bound for Atlanta.
The plane, which was carrying 184 passengers and six crew members, left the airport around 7:20 a.m. A short time later, birds were sucked into one of the airplane’s two engines, said Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton.
The captain chose to return to the airport as a precaution and the airplane landed without incident, Talton said.
Passengers were rebooked on other flights, Wilcut said.
Gunnery Sgt. Dwayne Gillingham of the New Orleans-based 4th Marine Logistics Group and his colleague, Gunnery Sgt. John Aliciea, were onboard, on the first leg of a trip that would take them on assignment to Puerto Rico.
“We were at about 10,000 feet when the pilot came on and said we were turning around to inspect damage,” Gillingham said. The pilot informed passengers of a vibration in the aircraft, he said.
Alicea said he felt an unusual “bump” on takeoff. He said the aircraft had no trouble returning to the airport and was met by fire trucks and other emergency equipment when it landed.
“They were inspecting the wing,” he said.
In January, a US Airways plane that had taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River when both of its engines were disabled by bird strikes shortly after takeoff.—-Contact The Daily Reveille news staff at [email protected]