DiCaprio On Board Flight During JFK Emergency Landing
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- The Delta flight that was forced to return to JFK Airport after losing one of its engines Sunday evening had one famous passenger aboard -- Leonardo DiCaprio.
DiCaprio's representatives put out a statement Monday confirming he was aboard Delta Flight 30 bound for Moscow.
According to the statement, "The Departed" and "Inception" star was en route to the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg.
The summit is a gathering of advocates and government officials from 13 countries trying to help stop the extinction of tigers.
"He wishes to commend the actions of the pilot and flight crew in bringing the plane to a safe landing," the statement read.
The jet had to circle the airport for 90 minutes to burn and dump about 60,000 pounds of fuel to land.
A crew of 160 firefighters was on emergency standby as the jet finally touched down without incident just before 6 p.m.
One of the aircraft's tires melted as it screeched to a halt, but there were no injuries.
