Delta Air Lines flight 1076 was preparing to land at Midway Airport in Chicago on the night of 4/7 when the pilot heard a loud bang directly beneath the fuselage and immediately reported the dangerous situation to air traffic controllers.
"We were just hit by a firework", the pilot stated in a communication tape that LiveATC.net released. "Hopefully the firework only exploded beneath the plane, but it was clearly a loud bang".
The Airbus A319 was struck by fireworks at an altitude of approximately 60-76 meters. This is an elevation that many types of civilian fireworks can reach, while professional fireworks can explode at 365 meters.
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Residents watch a fireworks display in West Sacramento, California, celebrating US National Day on 4/7. Photo: AP |
Residents watch a fireworks display in West Sacramento, California, celebrating US National Day on 4/7. Photo: AP
After receiving the information, Midway Airport air traffic controllers stated they had received numerous reports of similar incidents on the national day night and asked the pilot to park the plane for a damage inspection.
The plane, carrying 52 passengers and 6 crew members, landed safely around 8:30 PM that day, according to Delta Air Lines and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). After inspection, technicians found no damage to the aircraft.
American families commonly set off fireworks to celebrate on the night of the national day, 4/7. Air traffic control stated that Chicago city officials had been notified of the risk of holiday fireworks affecting local flights.
When another Southwest Airlines plane was preparing to land at Midway shortly after, air traffic control issued a warning: "Welcome to the war zone". "That sounds reassuring", the Southwest Airlines pilot replied.
By Thanh Danh (AP, CNN)
