Bird Or Drone? Mystery Behind What Struck AAL Flight 1722 During Departure From NYC

An American Airlines flight departing from LaGuardia and bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, was forced to make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Thursday night after what authorities described as a "bird strike" that caused an engine fire. However, given the ongoing mystery of drone sightings in the New Jersey-New York City airspace, one can't help but wonder...

American Airlines flight AAL1722 departed LaGuardia on Thursday night en route to Charlotte and suffered what authorities said was a bird strike on departure. A spokesperson for the airline said none of the 190 passengers or six crew members were hurt during the incident. 

According to NBC New York, the plane landed without incident at JFK minutes later. 

A verified video of the incident from a passenger's smartphone shows the moment an object was sucked into one of the plane's jet engines. 

NBC New York cited a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration that explained the object was, in fact, a "bird." 

However, not everyone was convinced. 

Meteorologist John Basham wrote on X, "Freeze Frames Appear To Show A POSSIBLE DRONE, Not A Bird." 

Hmm.

"Looks Too Big To Be A Bird. I'd Love For @AmericanAir To Post Images Of The Damage To The Engine. If There Was A Bird Strike, I'd Expect To See Biological Remnants," Basham pointed out.

Thursday night's incident comes amid exploding mass hysteria surrounding drone sightings in the area. Some speculate the drones may be part of the government's nuclear drone sniffer taskforce, while others suggest it could be a psyop.