Plane hitting coyote at RDU indicative of Triangle's growing wildlife population

A plane landed safely Tuesday night at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after hitting a coyote.

Southwest Airlines Flight 1221 was headed to Chicago Midway International Airport but was forced to turn around just minutes after takeoff Tuesday night.

In a radio communication obtained by WRAL News, the pilot told the air traffic control tower he “maybe hit an animal. We hit it pretty much on the center line.”

A spokesperson from the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane hit a coyote while departing from RDU.

Flight trackers showed that the plane had taken off and returned a short time later. It landed safely at 8 p.m.

WRAL News reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment and to find out what type of damage, if any, the plane suffered and to find out how many people were on board.

The Southwest Airlines website indicates the plane took off safely for the second time and headed for Chicago.

Plane diverted to ILM after security threat

In Wilmington Tuesday night, a flight from Toronto to the Dominican Republic made an emergency landing after the crew reported a passenger disturbance and a security threat.

Sunwing Airlines Flight 410 sat on the runway overnight at Wilmington International Airport, according to WECT, and no further details about the threat were immediately available.

RDU tries to keep animals off the airport

In 2010, a spokesperson from RDU explained the precautions the airport takes to prevent incidents like this from happening.

"The airport authority does have a wildlife management program in place, and we do implement that every year, every day," a spokesperson said.

The policy includes checking the fence lines for signs of digging and keeping the grass cut low to discourage rodents and other animals coyotes would feed on.

Through November, the airport had recorded 37 instances of planes hitting wildlife, most of them birds. Only one – a plane that hit a turkey vulture – involved minor damage.

Since 2003, the FAA has received seven reports of planes hitting coyotes at RDU.

"Coyotes have no idea what an airplane is and they would also not be prepared for how fast that they move," said Dr. Tara Harrison with the NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine. "The animals that are being hit, like deer, coyote, Canada geese, their populations are increasing and they're also increasing in areas where people are."

Animals hit by planes at RDU

37 wildlife strikes in 2022 through Nov. 30

42 wildlife strikes in 2021

34 wildlife strikes in 2020

41 wildlife strikes in 2019