• [Daily Mirror Icon]
• News
• UK News
• Jet2

Jet2 flight forced to land after 'loud bang' as 999 crews swarm UK runway

A Jet2 flight from Yorkshire to Crete made an emergency landing in Manchester after a bird strike shortly after take-off on Monday morning

[A Jet2 Boeing 737-86N lands at Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain, on February 23, 2026. (Photo by Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)]

View Image

A Jet2 flight made an emergency landing after a bird strike (file)(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A Jet2 flight from Yorkshire was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird strike shortly after take-off.

Flight LS443, bound for Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete, departed Leeds Bradford Airport at around 9am on Monday. However, the aircraft struck a bird shortly afterwards, prompting the crew to immediately halt the climb. The plane landed safely at Manchester Airport at 9.53am.

Alex, from Baildon, told The Yorkshire Post he heard a "very loud bang" on board, followed by an "immediate smell of burning feathers and flesh".

"We held north of Manchester Airport at 10,000ft for an hour or so as we waited to land," he said. "Emergency crews met us at the end of the runway [in Manchester] to inspect the engine and landing gear as we landed heavy. We left the aircraft and moved to another A320 at Manchester. We were back in the air by lunchtime."

Following the bird strike, the Boeing 737-800 levelled off at around 4,500ft, with flight trackers showing the aircraft circling at low altitude as pilots assessed the extent of any damage.

Although Leeds Bradford Airport was closer, a decision was made to divert to Manchester Airport.

Aviation outlet AirLive reported that diverting to Manchester is "a common procedural move for aircraft experiencing technical issues in the region" because the airport has longer runways, extensive maintenance facilities and greater capacity, making it easier to rebook passengers onto alternative flights.

Alex praised Jet2's handling of the incident, telling The Yorkshire Post: "The crew handled it brilliantly with immediate updates from the cockpit to our people at ease and let us know the plan."

He added: "Free drinks were provided on the following flight. I could not fault Jet2 at all for their handling of it. Absolutely brilliant and quite an experience."

The Mirror has contacted Jet2 for comment.

[Daily Mirror Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.