Bird strike forces Southwest Airlines flight to come back to Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - A Southwest Airlines flight out of Nashville experienced a bird strike Wednesday morning.
Flight 577 to Phoenix came back to Nashville International Airport 24 minutes after initially taking off.
Southwest Airlines spokespeople said the flight experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff and the captain safely returned the flight to Nashville.
The plane will be taken out of service for maintenance review.
The airline issued the following statement via representatives with the Nashville Airport:
"Southwest Airlines flight 577 departing Nashville (BNA) to Phoenix (PHX) experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff. The Captain in command declared an emergency and safely landed the flight back at BNA. The aircraft has been taken out of service for maintenance review. Our local Nashville Employees are working diligently to accommodate those passengers on the continuation of this flight on a new aircraft. The passengers will arrive to Phoenix approximately two hours behind."
Everyone is OK.
The incident comes a day after a Dallas-bound Southwest flight made an emergency landing in Philadelphia following a jet engine failure. A woman was killed.
