JetBlue passenger Desiree Salter posted a video of herself blessing a plane with oil on social media on February 15, and the video went viral following recent flight incidents. Credit: @desireesalter /TMX
A JetBlue flight was forced to turn back shortly after takeoff Tuesday after reportedly hitting a coyote on the runway of a Rhode Island airport.
JetBlue Flight 1129, en route to New York’s JFK Airport, struck the animal during takeoff from TF Green Airport on Tuesday morning, according to reports. WPRI TV. Although the aircraft initially continued its climb, it returned to Rhode Island approximately 15 minutes later.
Erin Drozda, a passenger on board the plane, said she heard a “thud” during takeoff.
“We were in the air for 10 to 15 minutes, and then suddenly the captain came and said, ‘This is the flight crew. If anyone heard that thud, we’ve hit a coyote and we’re on our way back to Providence now,” she told the station.
FATAL LAGUARDIA COLLISION RENEWS FOCUS ON JOB RISKS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
A JetBlue flight returned to a Rhode Island airport after a reported wildlife attack during takeoff on March 24. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)
“We thought it was a joke at first,” she added. “You never hear that.”
Drozda said emergency services were waiting on the runway when the plane returned.
She said crews inspected the nose of the plane for damage before asking passengers to disembark so a full inspection could be completed.
UNITED AIRLINES CUTS FLIGHTS AS IRAN WAR RAISES FUEL PRICES
JetBlue aircraft at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in the Queens borough of New York on December 26, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We got off the plane and stayed inside for about another half hour, and then they told us everything was fine and we could get back on the plane,” she told the station.
According to data from FlightAware, the plane departed Rhode Island around 6:16 a.m. and returned to TF Green at 6:40 a.m. It took off again just after 8:30 a.m. and landed at JFK at 9:06 a.m.
Drozda said the delay caused her and her wife to miss a connecting flight to Costa Rica, although they were able to rebook for Wednesday.
A spokesperson for TF Green Airport told CBS News that the incident did not affect any other flights.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
JetBlue Flight 1129 returned to TF Green Airport about 15 minutes after takeoff after reportedly hitting a coyote on the runway. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images)
JetBlue said the plane returned “out of an abundance of caution” after a report that the landing gear had made contact with wildlife during takeoff. The airline added that the flight landed safely and no problems or injuries were reported.
