A PASSENGER aircraft bound for New York was forced to make an emergency landing after hitting a coyote during takeoff.
JetBlue Flight 1129 hit the unsuspecting animal after jetting off from Rhode Island TF Green International Airport on Tuesday morning, according to the FAA.
The incident occurred around 6.40am and although the pilot initially tried to plough ahead, the flight was forced to turn back 15 minutes later.
A JetBlue spokesperson said the crew made the decision to turn back “out of an abundance of caution”.
Passenger Erin Drozda told WPRI: “We were up in the air for 10 to 15 minutes, and then all of a sudden the captain came on.
“[They] said, ‘This is the flight crew. If anyone heard that thud, we hit a coyote, and we are now on our way back to Providence’.”
“We thought it was a joke at first,” Drozda added.
“We were like, is that code for something else? What’s going on? We didn’t know.
“We thought it was actually a prank to be honest with you, because I mean you don’t ever hear that.”
Emergency crews were waiting on the tarmac when the flight touched back down in Rhode Island.
After inspecting the front of the aircraft for damage, passengers were told to disembark so airport staff could carry out a full inspection.
These checks revealed no structural damage to the plane or its passengers.
“We got off the plane and stayed inside for about another half hour or so, and then they told us everything was OK, and we were able to get back on the plane,” Drozda said.
The flight eventually took off just after 8.30am and landed at John F Kennedy International Airport shortly after 9am.
What should have been a half hour journey had taken aggrieved passengers well over two hours.
Fortunately, this strange incident did not impact any other flights that day, an airport spokesperson told CBS.
However, this wasn’t the case for Drozda and her partner.
The pair ended up missing their flight to Costa Rica because of the delay, but were able to book a new flight for Wednesday.
This is not the first time JetBlue has made the news.
Several people were injured back in October when a JetBlue passenger plane suddenly dropped in altitude.
The Airbus 320 left Mexico and was supposed to be heading to Newark Airport in New Jersey, but it was forced to divert to Tampa in Florida where it made an emergency landing.
The plane had reached an altitude of 35,000 feet and a cruising speed of more than 620mph before it suddenly dropped around an hour into the flight.
In the aftermath, JetBlue representatives said the plane was taken out of service so it could be inspected.
“The safety of our customers and crewmembers is always our first priority, and we will work to support those involved,” a spokesperson said.
