Delta Air Lines Flight 1076 landed Saturday at Chicago’s Midway International Airport just before 8:40 p.m. Central, according to FlightAware.
Air traffic control audio obtained by CNN indicates that as the plane was landing, it was hit by a firework. The incident happened when the plane was at an altitude of 200 to 250 feet, The Associated Press reports.
"We’re just hoping it was just a mortar that went off underneath but definitely felt a big bang," the pilot said.
| They noticed in Russia. The Regnum report, courtesy of badanov: |
Fireworks struck a plane approaching Chicago Airport during Independence Day celebrations. CNN reported this on July 5.
The incident occurred on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Midway International Airport. According to a recording of the crew's communications with air traffic control, released by Air Traffic Control (ATC), the pilot reported the incident.
"We just heard a bang in the plane," he told the controller.
The pilot clarified that the plane was at an altitude of approximately 200 feet (approximately 70 meters) at the time. The controller responded that several similar reports had already been received and that city authorities had been notified.
Despite the incident, the plane landed safely. After landing, it was sent for technical inspection.
This incident occurred several days after two other aviation accidents during landing approaches at US airports. On June 29, a passenger jet in New York City was hit by a drone, which struck the airliner above the cockpit. The plane landed safely, and the Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation.
On June 27, a United Airlines Boeing 737 flying from Florida to Newark also narrowly missed a drone. The pilot spotted the aircraft approximately 30 meters below the flight path. No one was injured in either incident.
| Remember when there was a fad for shining lasers into airplane cockpits, putting the pilots at risk of blindness? As I recall, some incidents were thoughtless idiots having fun, but quite a few were brave Lions of Islam getting their jollies without the personal risk of highjacking the things. |