A Delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing over the weekend after hitting a bird on its way to Denver on Saturday, March 7.
The impact caused the engine to malfunction.
Of the 126 passengers on board, none were injured, according to officials.
The Port Authority Police Department’s Aircraft Rescue Firefighter Unit rushed to meet the plane on the runway and help inspect the damage after the plane landed.
Passengers were eventually transferred to another plane to complete the flight after the setback.
Officials were unclear on what kind of bird it was.
The Federal Aviation Administration says that hundreds of “bird strikes” occur at JFK every year.
Bird populations have been increasing in the United States, according to an official from the agency, leading to more accidents.
Though some support the programs, others are against them, suggesting other methods may be more fruitful.
“There has to be a long-term solution that doesn’t rely so extensively on killing birds and also keeps us safe in the sky,” said Jeffrey Kramer, of the group GooseWatch NYC.
Kramer said better radar systems would likely work better than culling.
Officials admitted that even with the culling, strikes do happen.
“We do our best to reduce the risk as much as possible,” said Laura Francoeur, the chief wildlife biologist at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airports. “There’s still a lot of random chance involved.”
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