This Wednesday morning, a bird strike forced a Southwest Airlines flight to land in Nashville shortly after it’s takeoff. This happened just one day after another Southwest Airlines flight had an engine explosion in midair.
Flight 577 departed minutes after 5 a.m. this Wednesday from Nashville International Airport heading to Phoenix, but was forced to turn around just 24 minutes after takeoff after experiencing a bird strike.
FOX17 Nashville reported that the airplane landed safely back at the airport and was immediately ‘taken out of service for maintenance review’.
‘We’ve confirmed Flight 577 departing Nashville experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff’ Southwest Airlines reported for Fox News. ‘The Captain in command safely returned the flight to [Nashville]. The aircraft will be taken out of service for maintenance review. Our local Nashville Employees are working diligently to accommodate those passengers on to their destination.’
The flight’s forced landing comes just a day after another Southwest Airlines plane engine apparently exploded in midair killing one passenger. The flight was en route from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport to Dallas’ Love Field before it made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport around 11:20 a.m. The airplane had 144 passengers and five crew members on board.
Southwest Airlines flight 1380 made an emergency landing after the crew reported damage to one of the engines, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board stated that a preliminary examination showed that the blown engine had evidence of “metal fatigue.”
During a later press conference, The National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt said that one of the engine’s fan blades was missing. The blade was separated at the point where it would come into the hub and there was evidence of metal fatigue, Sumwalt stated.
Bird strikes happen all the time and we are very thankful that all the passengers and crew landed safely.
