An approximately 30-minute ground stop was lifted at O’Hare International Airport on Friday evening after an aircraft bound for Switzerland became disabled on a runway.
The pilots of a Swiss Air flight aborted takeoff at O'Hare International Airport on Friday night after the aircraft struck a flock of birds, according to an airline spokesperson.
A ground stop went into effect at the airport at 7:54 p.m., due to a disabled aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said on its website. The ground stop was lifted approximately a half hour later, authorities said. In the subsequent hours, departing flights continued to experience delays, with the FAA citing an "aircraft emergency" as the reason.
Swiss Air, the flag carrier of Switzerland, told NBC Chicago a Boeing 777-300ER bound for Zurich ran into a flock of birds during its take-off roll, and as a precaution, the pilots decided to abort the takeoff.
An airline spokesperson explained that the plane's brakes heated up during the process, and firefighters were called in to cool them down, but said no fire occurred. The plane was towed to the gate and was being thoroughly examined late Friday night following the incident, according to the airline.
Swiss Air organized accommodations for the more than 300 passengers onboard.
The incident took place around the same time when a small aircraft bound for O'Hare crashed into a forest preserve in nearby Elk Grove Village.
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