A Delta Airlines plane’s left wing struck the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night as the pilots attempted to abort a landing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Flight 4814, a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Delta subsidiary Endeavor Air, was arriving from Jacksonville, Florida, when the wing clipped the runway shortly after 10:10 p.m. The FAA said in a statement that 76 passengers, two pilots, and two flight attendants were on board. No injuries were reported, and airport operations continued without disruption, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Pilots were executing a go-around, a standard maneuver when an approach is deemed unstable. Air traffic control audio captured a controller telling the Delta pilot that sparks were seen coming from a wing. The pilot responded that they had not noticed anything but would check.
The plane landed safely on a subsequent attempt and proceeded to its gate. A Delta spokesperson said the crew followed established procedures to complete the go-around and apologized to passengers for the experience. The airline removed the aircraft from service for maintenance evaluation but did not specify when it would return to operation.
The incident follows a series of high-profile aviation mishaps, including a crash landing involving another Endeavor Air flight in Toronto last month. That plane, also a Bombardier CRJ-900, flipped upside down and caught fire upon landing. Twenty-one passengers sustained injuries but were later released from the hospital.
Despite recent events, experts maintain that air travel in the U.S. remains statistically safer than driving. The FAA is investigating the cause of Sunday’s incident.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.