Updated and edited, with freshest info at the bottom.
A flight en route to LAX turned around and landed at JFK airport in New York after striking dozens of birds on takeoff, prompting some to compare the episode to the “Miracle on the Hudson” that made pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger an international hero.
No heroics were necessary this time, as the Delta flight 1063 appeared to maintain power as it ascended from New York earlier this afternoon.
One passenger took video with his iPad and tweeted the adventure:
Grant Cardone, a sales training expert and author, made a video after the flight in which he states, “That was the scariest thing I have every done.”
He said it sounded “like a Volkswagen Beetle going through there:”
This might be my last flight. I was that scared.
He said he saw the birds, as many as 30, strike an engine, prompting smoke and the aforementioned emergency.
But flight attendants were calm on the plane carrying 172.
Delta stated:
On takeoff, the airplane had a likely bird strike. As a precaution, the captain elected to return to JFK. The flight landed without incident, and we're working on reaccomodating the passengers.
Cardone tweeted that the sound was the most terrifying aspect:
Delta pilots did great job – terrifying experience -birds hitting engine soundedlike automobile being grinders in the engine! #delta1063
— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) April 19, 2012
He said the birds were seagulls and hit the right engine:
Delta flight 1076 from JFKjust took in birds in right engine – we are landing – I have Video @AliVelshi with me
— Grant Cardone (@GrantCardone) April 19, 2012
CNN”s Ali Velshi was also on the flight and tweeted this:
Very big kudos to captin and crew of @Delta 1063 JKF-LAX for a quick turnaround & landing after bird strike & cabin filling with smoke
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) April 19, 2012
He said “the cabin started filling with smoke.”
He said it was Boeing 757, which started shaking right after the landing gear was retracted.
[Added at 3:45 p.m.]: Amazing udio of FAA tower communication indicates that there was a right-engine “failure” as a result of the bird strike:
Reuters says the plane took off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York about 3 p.m. (EST) and had to turn back about 10 minutes later.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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