JetBlue flight diverted to JFK Airport after hitting birds; lands safely in NYC
NEW YORK -- A JetBlue flight from Boston to Las Vegas landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport Monday evening after it struck birds.
JetBlue Flight 877, an Airbus 320 aircraft, reported that it struck the birds shortly after departing from Boston Logan International Airport around 4:45 p.m. Monday, the FAA said.
"We had a bird strike, we're going to level off at 3,000, we're going to need to come back to the airfield," the flight's pilot said, according to LiveATC.net. The pilot said he wasn't sure where the birds struck. "It was on the left side, it may have hit the engine, we're not sure."
The flight was headed to Las Vegas but the crew declared an emergency and planned to return to Boston, the FAA said, but they were forced to land in New York due to the weather.
The plane circled and dumped fuel before safely landing at JFK just before 7:30 p.m.
In a statement, JetBlue said the passengers on the plane were to get on another aircraft.
JetBlue has not indicated whether the plane was damaged.