Southwest flight to Austin returned to Fort Lauderdale after bird strike
FORT LAUDERDALE - A Southwest Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to Austin, Texas returned to South Florida after the plane struck a bird.
Southwest Flight 1416, which was scheduled to depart at 10:30 a.m., took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International at 11:18 a.m., according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24. It was scheduled to land in Austin at 1:14 p.m.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said that shortly after 11:30 a.m. they were informed of the bird strike. A non-emergency was declared and fire crews were sent to the airport.
The plane landed safely just before noon with fire crews on the tarmac as a precaution.
According to a statement from Southwest, "Our Pilots followed trained procedures and safely returned to Fort Lauderdale, where the aircraft taxied to a gate. To allow for further inspection, a separate aircraft will operate the flight to AUS. We apologize to our Customers for the inconvenience and we commend the swift, professional actions of our Flight Crew in response to the event."
The airline has not said where the bird struck or if there was any damage to the plane.
