[Animals] Bird strike causes engine fire and return to airport for an American Airlines jet

[Mr.Hacker]

 

An American Airlines flight headed to Phoenix on Sunday morning returned to Ohio's John Glenn Columbus International Airport because a bird strike disabled an engine, officials said.

A post-strike engine fire was captured on cellphone video that has been verified by NBC News. It shows flames from the No. 2 engine licking the airborne plane's right wing.

Takeoff was scheduled for 7:43 a.m., according to tracker FlightAware, and the bird strike happened roughly at 8 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

The aircraft turned back to the airport shortly afterward and landed safety, American Airlines said in its own statement.

 

"The flight landed normally and taxied safely to the gate under its own power," it said. "The aircraft was taken out of service for maintenance and our team is working to get customers back on their way."

The Boeing 737-800 had 173 passengers and crew and was carrying 30,000 pounds of fuel, according to radio traffic with an air traffic controller.

No injuries were reported.

 

The diverted version of the flight was minutes from landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware.

 

Passenger John Fisher told NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus that passengers were quickly made aware of the bird strike because of the sounds produced by the collision.

 

“Apparently we struck a flock of geese and the engine started making real loud ‘clonk, clonk, clonk’ noises,” he said. “They eventually turned the engine off and turned around and went back to the airport.”

Emergency crews responded after the aircraft landed, but the schedule of flights and arrivals at John Glenn Columbus International Airport was not affected, the airport said.

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[https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/plane-engine-catches-on-fire-after-striking-flock-of-geese-171208261678]