New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was a passenger on a private jet that was hit by a bird while en-route to Boston last Saturday for the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy. The pilot informed the mayor of the bird strike, but Bloomberg and the pilot agreed not to inform others of the situation until after the aircraft landed. Bloomberg is also a licensed pilot but was not flying the Dassault Falcom 900 biz-jet.
Air traffic control was advised of the situation as the pilot was concerned that he might encounter some problems upon landing. The aircraft landed safely without incident, but was not utilized for the return trip to New York. While the aircraft wasn't damaged, upon inspection the pilot and ground crew decided that it should not be flown back with the mayor and his entourage aboard.
The FAA is investigating the bird strike which occurred over Long Island.
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