American Airlines flight diverted after hitting bird

A meteorologist aboard an American Airlines flight bound for Florida said her flight was diverted to Maryland after it struck a bird while taking off.

According to information posted on airline tracker FlightAware, American Airlines flight AA4168—operated by Envoy Air—from Reagan National Airport (DCA) in the Washington, D.C., area was scheduled to land at Key West International Airport (EYW) at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday. However, FlightAware’s data shows the aircraft was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Taylor Grenda, a meteorologist at Washington, D.C.’s, Fox 5 station, said on X (formerly Twitter) that she was on the flight, adding it was rerouted due to a collision with a bird.

“Flight from DCA to Key West didn’t go as planned. Struck a bird taking off. Circled Maryland for a long time. Just safely landed at BWI,” Grenda wrote.

Newsweek reached out to Grenda via email on Wednesday for comment.

When contacted by Newsweek for comment, American Airlines responded with a statement.

“American Eagle flight 4168, operated by Envoy, with service from Washington, DC (DCA) to Key West (EYW) diverted to Baltimore (BWI) due to a possible bird strike,” the statement said. “The aircraft landed without incident and taxied to the gate under its own power, where it will be inspected by our maintenance team. We’re working to get customers on their way to EYW as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.”

The aircraft involved in the incident was an Embraer 175. There were reportedly 69 customers aboard, as well as four crew members. No injuries were reported.

Wednesday’s incident follows another emergency landing by an American Airlines flight last month in Los Angeles after a possible mechanical problem was reported by the pilot.

Flight AA 345 landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on March 13 with no reports of injuries to either passengers or crew. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, was able to taxi on the runway after landing and let passengers disembark, an American Airlines spokesperson told The CW-affiliated station KTLA 5.

The precise cause of that emergency, the result of what the pilot referred to as a “possible mechanical issue,” was unclear.

In another incident that garnered headlines a month earlier, an American Airlines flight was forced to make an unscheduled landing after a man attempted to open an emergency exit while the plane was in flight.

A spokesperson for the airline told Newsweek in a statement at the time that the February 20 flight scheduled to travel from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Chicago turned back “shortly after takeoff due to a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer.”

The spokesperson said that Flight 1219 “landed safely” and “was met by local law enforcement upon arrival” at Albuquerque International Sunport.

Fellow passengers quickly responded to the unnamed man’s alleged attempt to open the door by forcefully restraining him, according to passenger Zach Etkind, host of the Barstool Sports series Donnie Does.