A SWISS flight, all set to head to Zurich from Chicago O'Hare, had a bit of a feathery problem during takeoff this week. Yup, their Boeing 777 bumped into a bunch of birds, which obviously isn’t the best situation when you're trying to leave the ground.
For safety, the pilots put the brakes on the takeoff and wheeled back to the starting point. Last I heard, that big bird (the plane, not the Sesame Street guy) is still hanging out in Chicago.
Here’s the scoop:
The SWISS LX9, which goes from Chicago to Zurich every day, had this mishap on September 8th. The plane, a young one with just 3 years under its wings, had started its routine. According to The Aviation Herald and some deets from FlightRadar24.com, everything was on track. It left the gate at about 7:15 pm and was speeding down the runway when, at 130 knots, those birds decided to say hello.
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| Photo: FlightRadar24.com |
Why the quick stop, you ask? Running into a bunch of birds in the sky isn’t just a messy ordeal; it's a genuine safety concern. Thankfully, after all the braking and the fuss, everyone on board was okay.
SWISS had something to say about it too. Their spokesperson mentioned, “Our Flight LX9 had a bird encounter during its Chicago takeoff. Heading to Zurich, our pilots wisely decided to play it safe and cancel the takeoff. This got our brakes all hot and bothered, so the local fire team helped cool things down. Thankfully, no fire. We had to get the plane back to the gate and sort things out for our 316 passengers and 15 crew members. We’re super sorry for the inconvenience and are making things right for everyone.”
Ripple Effects:
This little bird encounter made a big splash. Not only did the flight get canceled, meaning SWISS had to scramble to make sure everyone reached Zurich, but the plane itself might need some TLC after the bird bash.
And it wasn’t just SWISS in a flutter. Chicago O'Hare, one of the busiest airports around, felt the ripple too. The word is, the FAA put a temporary hold on things for about 30 minutes. This meant some incoming flights had to do a little aerial dance and loop around. With all the planes coming and going, you can bet there was a bit of a shuffle for a while.
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