Passengers see dent in plane after Lexington landing. Airline says culprit was a bird
Passengers on a flight preparing to land in Lexington got a fright Wednesday afternoon when they heard and felt something hit the plane.
ExpressJet Airlines flight 4182 landed safely after the crew reported that a bird hit the plane, according to ExpressJet spokesman Jarek Beem. No injuries were reported on the flight, which was operating as an “United Express” flight.
Passenger Jay Brown of Jersey City said the plane was about to start its descent when suddenly there was a loud sound.
“It definitely shocked the people on the plane and even the flight attendant, who called the pilot,” Brown said.
Not long after that, the pilot made an announcement that something had hit the plane, Brown said.
The pilot kept control of the plane and landed safely at about 2:45 p.m., Brown said.
“The crew did a great job,” Brown said.
While the incident was alarming, there was not panic on board.
“It was so close to the landing time that I don’t think people had a chance to digest it until they got off the plane,” Brown said.
But once safely on the ground, passengers “counted their blessings” and started taking pictures of the damaged plane, Brown said.
A picture submitted to the Herald-Leader by Brown appeared to show a deep dent in the nose of the plane.
Brown said he flies about twice a week and has never experienced anything like what happened Wednesday, and hopes that he never will again.
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 8:02 PM.
