A Southwest Airlines flight that departed from Washington, D.C., made an emergency landing at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Tuesday after striking a bird.
Southwest Flight 1379 hit a bird as it departed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, so pilots diverted to BWI, per procedure, company spokesperson Chris Perry said in an email. Travelers bound for Houston transferred to another aircraft, Perry said.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane landed safely at BWI around 3:15 p.m. The FAA is investigating what caused the collision.
Aircraft collisions with birds have risen significantly over the past 30 years, according to a report from the FAA. A record-high 54 collisions between planes and birds were reported last year, according to the FAA.
Jonathan Dean, a spokesperson for BWI, said that the plane landed safely and that the diversion would not affect airport operations Tuesday evening.



Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.