Passenger Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Baltimore Airport After Bird Strike Shortly After Takeoff

Southwest Airlines Flight from Washington to Houston

Incident Shortly After Takeoff: Pilots Follow Manual to Land Safely… All Passengers Transferred to Replacement Flight

A passenger plane bound for Houston, Texas, after departing from an airport near Washington, D.C., made an emergency landing at a nearby airport following a bird strike shortly after takeoff.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local aviation industry sources on the 8th, Southwest Airlines Flight 1379 (a Boeing 737 MAX 8) en route to William P. Hobby Airport in Houston from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport struck a bird shortly after takeoff earlier that day.

Immediately following the incident, the pilots decided to divert in accordance with emergency procedures, and the aircraft landed safely at nearby Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) at around 3:15 p.m.

Southwest Airlines stated, "The flight crew strictly followed established emergency procedures, and the aircraft landed safely without further incident."

The airline promptly transferred the passengers to a replacement aircraft at the Baltimore airport. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, the replacement flight carrying the passengers departed Baltimore around 5:05 p.m. and resumed its journey to Houston.