CHICAGO (WGN) — Federal aviation officials are looking into an incident near Chicago’s Midway Airport after a plane was hit by a firework on the Fourth of July.
The FAA said the pilot of Delta Flight 1076 reported that a fireworks mortar struck the aircraft shortly before its arrival at Midway around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. In audio posted online by LiveATC.net, the pilot said the crew felt “a big bang” on the plane.
The recording indicates the plane was flying at roughly 200 to 250 feet when the strike happened. The pilot said the crew was hoping the noise “was just a mortar that went off,” referring to the tube used to launch aerial fireworks.
The commercial jet landed safely, and the arrival was completed without further incident.
Delta said in a statement that the flight had departed Atlanta with 52 passengers and six crew members on board, and the airline confirmed the aircraft came into contact with a firework.
Chicago police said the plane had “minor paint damage,” and officials reported no injuries.
It remains unclear whether any other aircraft were struck by fireworks Saturday. In the LiveATC.net recording, an air traffic controller can be heard saying there had been “multiple reports” of similar encounters and that Chicago city officials had been notified.
The FAA did not immediately answer questions about whether it had received reports of additional firework-related incidents affecting flights on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
