A JetBlue flight had a bit of excitement before it even took off. The flight struck a coyote on the runway. The flight was headed to New York from Rhode Island.
But it didn't make it far. Flight 1129 struck a coyote with its landing gear at T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick.
"We heard a thud and then after the thud, we still took off," passenger Erin Drozda told WPRI. "We were up in the air for 10-15 minutes, and then all of a sudden the captain came on and said, 'This is the flight crew. If anyone heard a thud, we hit a coyote and we are now on our way back to Providence.''
According to Drozda, passengers thought that the crew was joking with them when she heard that.
Plane Strikes Coyote
"We thought it was a joke at first," she said. "You don't ever hear that."
But they were dead serious. The flight had been headed for John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. However, just 12 minutes later, it turned around and returned to the airport of its origin. Drozda wasn't happy. It caused her to miss her connecting flight to Costa Rica as a result.
"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 said.
The flight was delayed. But all things considered it could have been worse. The plane managed to finally land later that morning, and there were no reported injuries. According to a JetBlue representative, they chose to return to the airport "out of an abundance of caution."
"The flight landed safely and a full inspection was done on the aircraft with no issues reported," the airline told CBS News in a statement.
