Monitoring Desk
HAVANA: A US jetliner departing from Cuba experienced engine trouble after colliding with flying birds and returned to Havana for an emergency landing Sunday, according to the Cuban authorities.
Smoke entered the plane’s cabin, but no one was hurt in the incident involving Southwest Airlines flight 3923 to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to the Cuban civil aviation authority Cacsa and the airline.
US jetliner was carrying 147 passengers
Southwest Airlines told AFP that the Boeing 737 was carrying 147 passengers in addition of a crew of six. Birds reportedly struck one of the plane’s engines and the nose shortly after takeoff. According to the statement, the pilots safely returned to Havana, where the passengers evacuated the aircraft via slides due to smoke in the cabin. It went on to say that the passengers would be rerouted to Fort Lauderdale. Cacsa has announced the launch of an investigation.
