The Air Atlanta Icelandic Boeing 747 had to return to the airport from where it departed because the horse it was carrying escaped the security zone.
By Carolina Rico
November 15, 2023 • 09:41
© Michael Reaves /Getty Images via AFP
A cargo plane bound for Liège, Belgium, was forced to return to New York after the horse it was carrying managed to break free midflight.
The horse left the safety zone half an hour after takeoff when the plane was at an altitude of around 31,000 feet last Thursday.
This Wednesday, ABC News cites an air traffic control recording in which the pilot of Air Atlanta’s Icelandic Boeing 747 requests permission to return to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The pilot explains that there is no problem with the aircraft, but he considers it necessary to interrupt the trip because the crew members could not safely control the horse.
The plane had to dump around 20 tons of fuel over the Atlantic before it could land safely in New York.
The horse was treated by a veterinarian and the flight resumed shortly afterwards, on to Belgium, where it landed on Friday morning without any further complications.