A Delta Air Lines commercial jet reportedly collided with a firework in the skies above Chicago while the city was in the middle of its Fourth of July celebrations.
The pilot of Delta flight 1076 radioed air traffic controllers shortly before touching down at Chicago Midway International Airport on Saturday evening, reporting that a firework had struck the aircraft during its approach. An audio recording posted online by LiveATC.net captured the pilot describing what felt like “a big bang” aboard the plane.
According to that recording, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of between 200 and 250 feet when the incident took place. The pilot expressed hope that the noise “was just a mortar that went off” — referring to the device used to launch aerial fireworks into the sky.
Both Delta and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the plane landed safely at approximately 8:30 p.m. local time. The flight had originated in Atlanta and was carrying 52 passengers along with six crew members.
No one on board was hurt, and Delta — which is headquartered in Atlanta — announced Sunday that maintenance crews who examined the Airbus A319 found no signs of damage to the aircraft.
The FAA has announced it will open an investigation into the episode.
Whether other aircraft were hit by fireworks that same night remains unknown. In the LiveATC.net audio, an air traffic controller can be heard referencing “multiple reports” of similar encounters and noting that Chicago city officials had been made aware of the situation.
The FAA did not immediately answer questions about whether additional firework-related incidents involving Saturday flights had been reported. The Associated Press reached out to both Chicago’s city government and the Chicago Police Department seeking more information.
