Commercial plane hits bird taking off at Tri-Cities Airport, forcing emergency landing

A Delta airline flight hit a bird as it was taking off from the Tri-Cities Airport before noon Monday, sending firefighters scrambling.

Pasco emergency crews were called to the airport in Pasco at 11:40 a.m. after the pilots reported they were turning the plane around because they hit a bird during takeoff.

The bird damaged an engine forcing the pilots to turn back when the plane was reportedly about a mile out from the 20th Avenue airport.

It was able to safely land just before noon, and no one was hurt, said Pasco officials on the ground.

The two-engine jet was a Embraer E-175, which is used for short and mid-range flights. It has about 76 seats, according to Delta.

The SkyWest flight 3557 was headed toward Seattle, leaving the gate taxing for the runway at 11:23 a.m. and expected to arrive in Seattle at 12:39 p.m.

Instead, FlightAware.com shows the plane turn back toward the airport after a few minutes, making two loops and then landing.

It was in the air for 18 minutes, and reached an altitude of 3,175 seven minutes into the diverted flight, according to the flight tracking site.

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 12:12 PM.