An American Airlines flight on Thursday, Dec. 12, faced a harrowing situation shortly after takeoff. The aircraft was en route from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, with 190 customers and six crew members on board. Just after 7 p.m. local time, a reported bird strike occurred, forcing the plane to make a sudden landing at JFK Airport.

Passenger's Video Captures the Incident

A passenger on the flight managed to capture the moment when a bird seemingly hit one of the plane's engines. The video, filmed onboard the flight, was posted to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. It showed the buildings illuminated on the ground below, and then a burst of light came from the plane's engine. This visual evidence provided a clear account of the event.

Aftermath and Response

After the incident, only one engine could be used, and the Airbus A321 was redirected to JFK. The pilot reported to ATC that it appeared they had an engine failure and were still trying to figure out what was going on. "We hit birds on the on the way out," the pilot said. American Airlines confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that flight 1722 with service from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte diverted to JFK due to the bird strike. The aircraft landed safely at JFK, where it will be inspected by the maintenance team. The airline expressed gratitude to the crew for their professionalism and apologized to the customers for the inconvenience. No injuries were reported from the incident.

Passenger Accommodations and Flight Rescheduling

Passengers were provided with hotel accommodations, and plans were made for the flight to re-depart on the morning of Friday, Dec. 13. This ensured that the passengers' travel plans were not overly disrupted. American Airlines took swift action to address the situation and provide the necessary support to the passengers.