Airplane Fills With Smoke After Hitting Flock Of Birds

A Southwest Airlines flight hit a flock of birds on Sunday, causing the plane to fill with smoke and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. The flight was headed for Florida but was forced to turn back to Cuba after the bird strike.

“Southwest flight #3923 departing Havana, Cuba, for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday morning experienced bird strikes to one of the engines and the aircraft’s nose shortly after takeoff,” a Southwest Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business. “The Pilots safely returned to Havana where the 147 Customers and six Crew evacuated the aircraft via slides due to smoke in the cabin.”

“The Customers and Crew were bussed to the terminal and are being accommodated on alternative flights to Fort Lauderdale,” the airline said. “We commend the swift, professional actions of our Pilots and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. We apologized to our Customers for the negative experience, extending compensation for the inconvenience and offering additional support.” 

Some of the passengers on the flight also reported that many of the oxygen masks were not falling automatically, forcing them to punch the ceiling to get them down.