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Passengers Describe BWI Emergency Landing After Bird Strike

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A plane makes an emergency landing at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport after hitting a bird.

Tracey Leong spoke to passengers who described the fear on board.

The airborne scare happened Friday night. It landed safely but for many on the flight, they say their worst nightmares played out when they saw their own plane on fire.

WJZ obtained images from passengers on board Flight 3118 capturing the panic in the sky.

"You could tell that something was wrong and then you felt the vibrations and you could see the flames outside the window," said passenger David Rabe.

For Rabe, it was the last thing he expected flying home: a flock of birds colliding with the Southwest plane, causing an emergency landing at BWI.

"Very frightening on the inside. You're wondering---things go through your head, `Are we going to go down?' This is the first thing through your mind. Southwest has never had an accident and this is going to be the first one and I happen to be on the plane for the first accident," said passenger Michael Lee.

Lee and his wife Valerie were visiting Baltimore to see family. They thought they weren't going to make it.

"She grabbed my arm and said `I love you' and she never does that. I said `I love you, too,'" Lee said.

With all the chaos in the air, passengers on board say it was the crew and pilot who were able to keep them calm.

"Nobody seemed to panic. Everybody did a good job at getting us home safely," Rabe said.

"A big applause; all the passengers were clapping and really happy," Lee said.

While thankful they landed safely, the frequent flyers say this experience has jolted their view on traveling by air.

"Have no control once it happens. You could die in an instant---but it's something you've got to do and you definitely think twice," Lee said.

There were 142 passengers on board the flight that was heading from San Antonio. Crews from BWI and Anne Arundel County Fire Department assisted when the plane landed.

The plane has been taken out of service. Some passengers continued on to Detroit and were offered another flight.

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