A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Thursday afternoon after encountering an engine problem the pilot said was caused by a bird strike shortly after takeoff.

"We lost our right engine due to the ingestion of birds," the pilot told the control tower.

Delta Flight 1063’s pilots told air traffic controllers of an engine-related problem shortly after the Los Angeles-bound plane took off from JFK around 3 p.m., FAA spokesman Jim Peters said.

“As a measure of caution, the pilot chose to turn around” and landed the Boeing 757 at JFK, Delta spokesman Anthony Black said. All 172 passengers and seven crew members were OK, he said.

Delta needs to examine the engine before a bird strike could be confirmed, Black said.

Ali Velshi, CNN's chief business correspondent, was on the plane. He  said he heard “a horrible grinding noise” after the plane took off.

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