A commercial airliner carrying 58 people was hit by American Independence Day fireworks in the skies above Chicago on Saturday 4 July 2026, according to official airline, airport, and police statements.
Delta Flight 1076 from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was due to land at Midway International Airport at around 8:30 pm when air traffic controllers warned the pilots to “use caution: there are multiple homes near the approach end shooting off fireworks.”
Shortly afterwards, with the aircraft at an altitude of about 200ft (61m), a pilot told the controllers, “We just had a firework hit our plane.” The pilot added: “We’re just hoping it was just a mortar that went off underneath but definitely felt a big bang.”
A Delta flight arriving at Chicago Midway International Airport on the July 4th reportedly made contact with a firework during its approach. The aircraft landed safely, and radio transmissions captured the crew reporting the incident to air traffic control pic.twitter.com/99rwzNeKWE
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 5, 2026
No injuries were reported among the flight’s 52 passengers and six crew, and the plane subsequently “landed safely at Chicago Midway International Airport around 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, July 4,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. The airline said the aircraft then taxied to the gate and was inspected. The FAA is investigating the incident, which caused “minor paint damage”, according to the Chicago Police Department, speaking to the BBC.
The incident was not the only one that evening. Around a quarter of an hour later, Southwest Airlines flight 223 out of Denver was told “Welcome to the war zone” by air traffic controllers as it approached Chicago’s Midway, to which the crew responded wryly: “That’s reassuring.”
On audio recordings taken during the evening’s events, air traffic controllers described “multiple reports” of similar occurrences. Local authorities had reportedly been informed of the situation and were liaising with law enforcement, the control tower said, although their powers to intervene were in question. “They said they would notify the Chicago police, but you know, I don’t know what they’ll do, right?” said one controller.
@randomclipsusa1 250th BIRTHDAY 🇺🇸 #fireworks #chicago #4thjuly #usa #downtown ♬ original sound – ☆
While the Chicago incidents appear to have been caused by civilian fireworks, official US Embassy Independence Day celebrations in Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels have also caused controversy in recent days, after nearby historic buildings reported damage, which some attributed to fireworks let off during the event. After the Brussels 4 July party, attended by 8,800 guests, the roof of the Royal Museums of Art and History was scorched and impacts were found on decorative friezes, leading to the launch of an inquiry by Belgium’s Federal Buildings Authority.
Responding to the claims, Bill White, the US Ambassador, wrote on social media platform X: “We are in immediate contact with the Belgian company that was hired to coordinate all event logistics, including the fireworks company.” Promising that the firm would put the damage right if needed, White posted pictures that he said showed “Cinquantenaire has never looked any cleaner than it was the day after we cleaned up after our event.”
