NEW JERSEY (US), March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane struck a bird while departing Newark Airport, New Jersey, on Saturday and made an emergency landing with one engine on fire.
FedEx Flight 3609, which was headed to Indianapolis, landed safely nine minutes after takeoff at 7.58am.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the strike caused one of the plane’s engines to burst into flames, forcing the plane to quickly land.
“Video from the incident shows the quick-thinking pilots returning the plane to land safely while the engine is on fire,” Duffy said.
Duffy cited a US Department of Transportation report that said there were over 19,000 bird strikes in 2023, up 14 per cent over 2022. The report found 65 per cent of bird strikes occur during takeoff or landing and around 5 per cent of strikes result in damage to an aircraft. — NNN-AGENCIES
