FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - A flight out of South Florida was forced to divert after a bird collided with the plane. Now, a passenger on that flight is speaking out about the experience.
“The flight attendant nonchalantly came on the speaker and said, ‘We’ve had a bird strike, we need to make an emergency landing,'” said Brian Lieberman.
A plane is forced off course after it struck a bird mid-air.
“I wasn’t in shear panic, but I was definitely concerned,” said Lieberman.
Lieberman and his wife were on board the Allegiant Air airplane, traveling north for business, when the sudden strike took place.
“The first bird must’ve hit and caused the dent in the plane and the second must have gotten stuck,” said Lieberman.
The airline told 7News the bird strike happened Thursday as Flight 531, which took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, was heading to Concord, North Carolina.
The mid-air scare forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Orlando so crews could inspect the damage, which delayed the flight for more than five hours.
That’s when Lieberman pulled out his phone and began recording as crews raced to remove the nose of the plane, which showed the bird still lodged inside.
”The people from the airline were great, giving us updates at least every 15 to 20 minutes, letting us know what the progress was,” said Lieberman. “At the same time we’re looking out the windows watching them fix the nose of the plane. Everyone seemed to be in really good spirits and happy.”
After five hours of waiting, the plane was finally ready for take off and back on course.
Lieberman is thankful the situation was quickly fixed and said his experience felt like something from a movie.
“It reminded me of that movie ‘Sully,’ when the pilot landed in the Hudson. The captain of that plane did a really good job keeping people calm at the end there, as we’re getting ready to land there and letting everybody know that everything was going to be fine,” said Lieberman. “That put everybody’s minds and souls at ease.”
The plane has since safely landed and passengers on board were awarded a $50 voucher for future travels.
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