Business & Tech

Birds Strike Southwest Flight from Tampa Causing Emergency Landing at Bradley International Airport

Flight 2102 was about 20-25 miles south of Bradley when multiple birds struck the nose.

 

A Southwest Airlines plane landed safely at Bradley International Airport this afternoon after hitting a bird about 20-25 miles south of  the airport.

Bradley officials received a text alert from Flight 2102 around 2 p.m. warning there may be a problem, John Wallace, Bradley spokesman said.

The plane was met by Bradley Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, and emergency personnel as a precaution, Wallace said.

“It landed safely under its own power,” Wallace said.

Paul Flanigan, a Southwest spokesman, said the plane received multiple bird strikes on its nose. The captain declared an emergency and was able to land the plane safely. It was taxied to a remote location to inspect it for damage.

When it was determined the damage was not too severe, the plane was then taxied to its gate. The 125 passengers were uninjured and got off the plane, Flanigan said.

The plane has been taken out of service. The incident had very minimal affect on Southwest’s operations, Flanigan said.

Multiple bird strikes are unusual but Southwest has procedures in place to handle such situations.

“It does happen,” Flanigan said.


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