Bird strike disables a jetliner engine and forces an emergency landing at JFK airport

NEW YORK (AP) — A bird strike took out one of an American Airlines jet’s two engines after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport and forced the the plane to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy International Airport, authorities said Friday.

“Mayday mayday mayday American 1722 engine failure,” the pilot of the Charlotte, North Carolina-bound aircraft radioed to the control tower during Thursday’s emergency, according to a recording of air traffic control communications.

“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 said, according to the recording archived by the aviation site LiveATC.net.

Airline officials said no one was injured in the incident involving the Airbus A321, which took off from LaGuardia at 7:43 p.m. with 190 passengers and six crew members on board.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the New York area’s major airports, said the pilot declared an emergency at 7:52 p.m.

The air traffic recording shows the pilot requested clearance to land 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 asked.

The Port Authority said the plane landed safely at 8:03 p.m. and taxied to the terminal under its own power.

The Federal Aviation Administration says bird strikes are increasing, with 19,400 strikes at 713 airports across the U.S. last year alone. Rarely do they cause so much damage that commercial jetliners are forced to make emergency landings.

American Airlines said in a statement the aircraft landed safely at Kennedy and was being inspected by maintenance workers. “We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused,” the airline said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s investigating.

This bird strike disabling a commercial jet recalled the so-called “ Miracle on the Hudson, ” which like Thursday’s American Airlines flight involved a plane leaving LaGuardia for Charlotte. That US Airways jet hit a flock of birds on Jan. 15, 2009 and lost power in both engines shortly after takeoff. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was hailed as a hero after he landed the powerless plane in the Hudson River and all 155 people on board were rescued.

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