An engine of a Boeing 737 filled with more than 100 passengers suddenly exploded into flames after a rabbit got caught in its engine.
The flight, from Denver in the US to Edmonton in Canada was taking off when passengers reported feeling a loud bang – before fire shot from its right engine. The pilots were able to safely deal with the issue from the cockpit and the United Airlines plane was able to turn around and land back at the airport after the unusual wildlife strike. It is unknown currently how the rabbit managed to hop inside the affected engine.
When the incident unfolded there were 159 people aboard as the plane was taking off. Passenger Scott Wolff told ABC : “There was a loud bang and a significant vibration in the plane we proceeded to still climb.
“Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fire ball behind it. Everybody in the plane then started to panic.”
The plane returned to the gate after around 75 minutes in the air as the pilots attempted to deal with the unusual situation.
A spokesman for the airline said: “The aircraft returned to the gate, and we’ve lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way.”
Wildlife strikes on aircraft are rare and tend to happen when planes are flying low – at or below 10,000 feet – which is usually during take-offs or landing.
The majority of bird strikes take place at around 3,000 feet although they have been known to occur at the typical cruising altitude of 35,000 feet.
A bird strike is feared to have been responsible for the tragic deaths of a family of five and pilot in a horror helicopter crash in the Hudson River in New York City last week.
Spanish tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO of Siemens Spain, and Merce Camprubi Montal, who were killed with their three children, had booked the helicopter ride in New York City ahead of the eighth birthday of one of their youngsters.
The family died alongside their pilot, 36-year-old veteran flier Seankese Johnson, when the chopper plunged into the city’s Hudson River at around 3.17pm on April 10.
While a probe into the tragedy remains ongoing, it has emerged investigators are examining reports of flocks of birds being spotted near the crash scene ahead of the aircraft seemingly spiralling out of control.
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