America West JFK Airport Incident

What happened last night with an America West airline flight that originated at JFK International Airport in New York City? There are not a lot of details at this point, but there is some indication that it may have involved someone trying to fire a missile at the plane. At this point, the only thing that the airline is stating publicly is that there was an incident of some sort, but no other details.

Michelle Malkin has more:

I just got off the phone with Phil Gee, associate manager of media relations at America West, who promptly returned my late evening call. Here’s what he told me:

On Sept. 15 (Thursday), America West Flight 17 took off from JFK Airport at 6:05pm EDT. The captain “took the initiative,” says Gee, and reported an “irregularity” to air traffic control as the plane was ascending. The plane continued to Phoenix and landed safely at 8:55pm MST. FBI and other authorities met and interviewed all of the crew and passengers on the plane. The investigation is continuing.

Gee would not say whether the pilot or other crew or passengers reported witnessing a missile firing.

“Nothing is confirmed,” Gee said.

Although one tipster says America West has informed its pilots of the incident, Gee denied that any company bulletin has been issued. Gee mentioned that he had heard that other airline pilots had posted about the incident on an online forum.

At this point, Michelle Malkin is the only one on this story. The local news outlets: 1010wins, wcbs880, and fox5ny, haven't run a story on the subject. Michelle's update suggests that the pilot took evasive maneuvers because of a flock of birds, not because of a missile siting. JFK airport sits adjacent to the Gateway National Wildlife Refuge, which is on the flyway for migratory birds up and down the East Coast. It is quite possible that there was a flock of birds that were in the path of the ascending plane, but something still doesn't quite jibe. However, that same wildlife refuge, which runs along parts of Jamaica Bay, could be a great place for a terrorist to attempt to shoot down a plane.