A plane en route to Belgium returned to New York after a horse got loose from its stall, according to multiple reports.
The 747 cargo, operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic, left John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 9, according to The Associated Press (AP).
“We have [a] live animal, [a] horse, on board the airplane. And the horse managed to escape the stall,” the pilot can be heard saying on air traffic control, posted by You Can See ATC on Youtube.
The pilot said in the clip they had no issues flying but needed to return to New York to get the horse secured. The plane turned back to New York off the coast of Boston and dumped about 20 tons of fuel because of the flight’s weight, according to the audio.
The Boston controller approved the dumping of fuel and alerted nearby pilots of “fuel dumping in progress approximately 10 miles west of Martha’s Vineyard,” per the audio.
The pilot requested a veterinarian to meet them when the plane landed, per the video.
A horse on a plane got loose after leaving JFK.
“We are a cargo plane with a live animal, a horse, onboard,” the pilot told air traffic control.https://t.co/46Ydgp5Pyo
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) November 15, 2023
Once the plane landed, the pilot denied assistance on the ground but, “On the ramp, yes, we have a horse in problem,” he said in the ATC audio. (RELATED: Woman Delays Flight For 2 Hours, Gets Kicked Off Plane For Traveling With ‘Emotional Support’ Squirrel)
The flight was able to take off soon after and arrived at Liege Airport, ABC News reported, citing FlightRadar24.
How the horse managed to escape is still unknown.
In August, a bear got loose in the cargo of an Iraqi Airways plane, forcing the plane to land at the Dubai International Airport, according to The National, a United Arab Emirates-based newspaper.