JetBlue flight turns back after striking a coyote on the runway: 'We thought it was a joke'
A JetBlue flight was forced to turn back shortly after takeoff Tuesday after reportedly striking a coyote on the runway at a Rhode Island airport.
JetBlue Flight 1129, bound for New York’s JFK Airport, struck the animal while taking off from T.F. Green Airport Tuesday morning, according to WPRI-TV. Although the aircraft initially continued its climb, it returned to Rhode Island about 15 minutes later.
Erin Drozda, a passenger on the flight, said she heard "a thud" during takeoff.
"We were up in the air for 10 to 15 minutes, and then all of a sudden the captain came on and 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,'" she told the station.
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"We thought it was a joke at first," she added. "You don’t ever hear that."
Drozda said emergency crews were waiting on the runway when the plane returned.
She said crews inspected the nose of the aircraft for damage before asking passengers to deplane so a full inspection could be completed.
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"We got off the plane and stayed inside for about another half hour or so, and then they told us that everything was OK, and we were able to get back on the plane," she told the station.
According to FlightAware data, the plane departed Rhode Island around 6:16 a.m. and returned to T.F. Green at 6:40 a.m. It took off again just after 8:30 a.m. and landed at JFK at 9:06 a.m.
Drozda said the delay caused her and her wife to miss a connecting flight to Costa Rica, though they were able to rebook for Wednesday.
A spokesperson for T.F. Green Airport told CBS News the incident did not impact other flights.
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JetBlue said the aircraft returned "out of an abundance of caution" after a report that the landing gear made contact with wildlife during takeoff. The airline added the flight landed safely and no issues or injuries were reported.
FOX Business has reached out to JetBlue and T.F. Green Airport for additional information.