A kite struck a United Airlines plane as it was approaching Reagan National Airport in metro Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
The airline said in a statement to USA TODAY on Monday that it was “aware of reports that a kite struck UA flight 654 from Houston to Reagan Airport” in Arlington, Virginia.
Fortunately, the “aircraft landed safely,” and “customers deplaned normally,” the airline said, adding that there was no damage to the aircraft.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement Monday that officers responded to reports of kite-flying on Saturday at Gravelly Point, a National Park Service site in Arlington, Virginia, just a few hundred feet away from the north end of Reagan National’s runway. The agency said that kite-flying isn’t allowed in the area “due to the danger to low-flying aircraft.”
The agency’s police department patrols Reagan National and Dulles International airports, according to the agency’s website.
The agency said that responding officers warned “some individuals about flying kites and briefly confiscated a kite.” However, the kite was returned to the owner shortly after and no charges were filed.
“You were telling me those details about the kite, whether it was over the park?” the person could be heard saying. “How high was it?”
In response, a person, presumably the pilot, responded: “It was over the park about 100 feet over the ground, it looked like it was right on the flight deck. Those guys were a little bit low.”
