Delta A321 crew report nosewheel ran over opossum during Tampa takeoff

Pilots on a Delta Air Lines flight from Tampa to Atlanta reported that the aircraft's nosewheel ran over a baby opossum during the takeoff roll, according to the flight crew's account.

Delta Flight DL2743, an Airbus A321 with registration N353DN, left runway 19R at Tampa International Airport at 5:10 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2026, bound for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Minutes into the climb, the crew contacted air traffic control about the encounter on the runway.

The pilots felt no impact in the cockpit, they said, but planned to note the event in the aircraft's logbook. All onboard systems were working normally and no anomalies were detected, so the crew continued to Atlanta.

The roughly one-hour flight landed safely in Atlanta at 6:27 a.m. EDT with no further incident. No delays or operational disruptions were reported.

Wildlife strikes occur from time to time at major airports, though smaller mammals such as opossums rarely affect flight safety or damage commercial airliners.