This Plane Had to Land With a Bird Stuck in Its Nose

When partaking in the miracle of human flight, airline passengers soar through the sky in what many believe to be pressurized vessels of death. These fears become realized when modern day aeronautics collide with the natural world, like when this unwitting bird rammed into an American Airlines flight, getting its beak lodged in the aircraft's nose in a cruel display of irony on Tuesday.  

The unlucky avian died during the collision, presumably drifting up to the equivalent of Valhalla for fallen bird warriors. Weirdly, the bird managed to stay embedded in the plane's nose after its descent into Miami International Airport from Mexico City. Befuddled workers stood around on the tarmac, scratching their heads while ogling the bird's writhing wings:

Birds do occasionally meet a brutal demise in the form of an airplane collision, but rarely do they become wedded with the machinery, or cause much of a problem for passengers onboard the flight. In the case of Tuesday's event in Miami, it was basically par for the course as far as human injuries are concerned, as no one on the flight suffered a scratch. The flight taxied as normal with the bird stuck in the plane's nose, like a gruesome souvenir from the sky, before animal services came and pried it from the aircraft's death grip. 

Bird collisions can create problems for pilots, though. In the 2009 incident dubbed the 'Miracle on the Hudson" and immortalized in the 2016 drama Sully starring Tom Hanks, a US Airways flight struck a flock of geese, prompting an emergency landing on the Hudson River outside of JFK International Airport in New York City. While situations like that are severe, it isn't likely that a rogue flock of pigeons has a serious chance of bringing down your aircraft. According to pilots, the chances are minuscule, and you'd be shocked to learn how many birds your plane mows through on a given journey. 

So let this be a reminder that when we share the skies with its natural dwellers, we should always appreciate their generosity and sacrifice. 

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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Esquire. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster.