Boston-bound plane hits bird, diverted to JFK

BOSTON -- An airplane flying from New York to Boston was diverted on Thursday after hitting a bird. The passengers on the flight did land safely at Boston on Thursday afternoon after making an emergency landing at JFK.

One passenger said when the pilot came on to tell passengers that they had suffered a bird strike, she did remember the miracle on the Hudson

“I thought back to the, I guess it was US Airways Flight back in (January) 2009 when they landed in the Hudson River. I just remember my heart racing and thinking oh my gosh we could crash,” said Alice Ting.

A regular business trip for Ting turned out to be an unusually memorable one after her Boston-bound Delta flight from LaGuardia hit a bird.

“We were taking off and it felt a little strange. It felt like the plane was going much faster than normal and then all of the sudden there was a really large thump,” said Alice Ting. “[I thought maybe] they’re just lifting the wheels, but then there was a strange smell.”

Delta said its Shuttle Flight 1380 had a bird strike Thursday morning and had to divert to JFK in New York.

“The pilot said there were a dozen geese and I guess one of the geese must have hit the engine,” said Ting.

The plane landed safely at JFK and the passengers made their way onto other planes bound for Boston. Ting is glad her flight didn’t have its own miracle landing.

“I was fearful. I was hoping to land and I think it was just the pilot’s calm demeanor that made it seem better. The flight attendants seemed okay, so I thought, you know what, if something else was happening I’d rather just not know about it,” said Ting.

There were 27 passengers aboard the plane. The airline said no one was hurt.

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