Jet2 Flight Hits Bird, Emergency Landing at Manchester

0:00It's April 28th. You're listening to Lester News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Cory with the story. A jet-two flight headed to Crete hit a bird right after takeoff from Leeds Brafford Airport, forcing an emergency landing in Manchester. This was flight LS443, a Boeing 737-800 bound for Heraklion on Greece's island. It all went down on Monday, April 27th, around 9am. The crew ditched a climb immediately after the strike, and leveled off at about 4,500 feet. Aviation trackers showed the plane circling low, while pilots checked the damage. They touched down safely at Manchester by 9.53am. Passengers like Alex from Belden described a loud bang followed by the stench of burning feathers and flesh. The plane held north of the airport at 10,000 feet for about an hour, before landing heavy. Safety teams rushed out to inspect the engine and gear. Once on the ground, everyone switched to a spare Airbus A320 at Manchester.

1:01They were back airborne by lunchtime. No injuries reported. Pilots handled its textbook style, turning a potential mess into a quick detour aviation prose, keeping it smooth as ever.