A private jet in Florida was reportedly forced to make an emergency landing after the Federal Aviation Administration said it hit “multiple deer” during takeoff.
The jet, a Cessna Citation, struck the animals Tuesday evening while taking off from North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport, the FAA said in a statement. The plane then made an emergency landing at the nearby Palm Beach International Airport, according to The Palm Beach Post.
The plane, which was heading to Cincinnati, was carrying seven passengers when it took off near the state’s Beeline Highway, The Palm Beach Post reports. No injuries were reported, and the plane landed safely.
The aircraft landed at Palm Beach International Airport shortly after 7:30 p.m. and was towed to the parking ramp “as a precaution,” a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Department of Airports told The Independent.
The pilot said he was going to “declare an emergency” because he hit “four or five deer on the nose gear and possibly on the wings.” according to air traffic control audio reviewed by The Palm Beach Post.
The pilot reportedly asked air traffic controllers: “Can you let [North County Airport] know there are deer on the runway?”
Air traffic controllers then had to make changes to accommodate the private jet’s emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport. At one point, a United pilot reportedly asked air traffic control: “Did you say they hit deer?”
“That is their report,” an air traffic controller responded.
This kind of incident is “an extremely rare event, like getting hit by lightning or getting bit by a shark,” pilot Michael Leighton told local outlet WPBF.
“It’s not something that happens. You could fly your whole life, your entire life. I’ve got 16,000 flight hours, that’s two full years off the surface of the Earth, and I’ve never hit an animal with an airplane. Can it happen? Sure. Is it likely to happen? Probably not,” he said.
Leighton noted that it’s often not possible for planes to take a sudden turn once they reach a certain speed during takeoff.
“You’re not able to swerve left or right like you can with a car. With an airplane, your range of motion is much smaller because the plane only has three wheels, so it’s not made for that. It’s not made to turn quickly at high speed on the ground,” he added.
