American Airlines plane flying ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ route strikes bird, makes NYC emergency landing

An American Airlines plane made an emergency landing in New York City following a bird strike shortly after takeoff. Flight 1722 – which was carrying 190 customers and six crew members – left LaGuardia Airport and was heading to Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday night before being diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport.  The Airbus A321 was following the same route that US Airways Flight 1549 took in January 2009 when it struck birds after takeoff and was forced to land in the Hudson River. Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger guided that plane to a safe landing in an event known as the "Miracle on the Hudson." "I was scared. I thought I was going to die. There were a couple of small explosions. And there was a fire," Amy Stamper, a passenger onboard Thursday’s plane, told the New York Post. AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT RETURNS TO CHICAGO AIRPORT AFTER ‘POSSIBLE MAINTENANCE ISSUE’ MID-FLIGHT American Airlines told FOX Business that there were no reports of injuries. In a video posted on X purportedly showing the bird strike, flames could be seen coming out of one of its engines during the moment of impact. "American Airlines Flight 1722 with service from New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Charlotte (CLT) diverted to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) due to a reported bird strike," the airline said. "The aircraft landed safely at JFK, where it will be inspected by our maintenance team. We are grateful to our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this may have caused." AMERICAN AIRLINES PASSENGERS DUCT TAPE MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO OPEN CABIN DOOR MID-FLIGHT: REPORTS The flight is expected to re-depart for Charlotte Friday morning, and customers were given hotel accommodations following the incident Thursday. "There were people who were scared. I was a little scared. . . . It kind of felt like how a car would backfire. Rocking a little," another passenger told the New York Post. "At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then I saw other people [reacting] around me and thought, ‘This might be bad’." CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS        The passenger said the flight attendants onboard the plane did a good job comforting passengers who were in distress. Fox News' Melissa Summers contributed to this report.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei FOX Business