A British Airways formation headed from Washington, D.C., to London Saturday diverted to Boston aft a study of a vertebrate onslaught and fume successful the cabin, officials said.
British Airways Flight 216 landed astatine Boston Logan International Airport astatine astir 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time "after the unit reported a imaginable vertebrate onslaught and fumes successful the cabin," the Federal Aviation Administration said successful a connection to CBS News.
The Boeing 777 had departed Dulles International Airport and was bound for Heathrow Airport.
A spokesperson for British Airways said the formation was diverted to Boston "as a precaution pursuing a suspected vertebrate strike," adding that engineers were inspecting the aircraft.
A Massachusetts Port Authority spokesperson told CBS News successful an email "a vertebrate was struck" and that the level "landed without incident."
No further details were instantly provided. There were nary reports of injuries. It's unclear however galore radical were aboard the aircraft.
The formation had taken disconnected from Dulles soon aft 5:30 p.m., according to aerial postulation information from FlightAware.com.
The FAA said it volition analyse the incident.
The fig of reported vertebrate strikes successful the U.S. has been steadily rising, according to the FAA, which maintains a database that records collisions betwixt craft and wildlife. It attributes the summation to respective variables, including increasing wildlife populations, an summation successful aviation traffic, and a inclination towards quieter aircraft.
In 2023, astir 19,400 bird strikes were reported astatine 713 U.S. airports, the FAA says.
Mark Strassmann contributed to this report.