Little Bird Grounds Bigger Bird at Dulles, Ruffling Feathers
- Share via
WASHINGTON — A small bird flew into the cockpit of a United Airlines plane at Dulles International Airport on Friday night, forcing the carrier to delay for three hours a flight full of London-bound passengers.
United spokesman Tony Molinaro said the bird came either from within the airport or sneaked aboard through a hole in the jetway. It entered the Boeing 777-200, flew into the cockpit and hid inside an electrical panel.
Technicians removed the panel but did not find the bird until more than 2 1/2 hours later. It’s condition was not immediately known.
But by then the airline had decided to switch planes “just to play it safe,” Molinaro said. Flight 920 finally took off at 10:10 p.m. EDT.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime” thing, Molinaro said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
