By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – 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 7:58 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
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.
FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Duffy cited a U.S. Department of Transportation report that said there were over 19,000 bird strikes in 2023, up 14% over 2022. The report found 65% of bird strikes occur during takeoff or landing and around 5% of strikes result in damage to an aircraft.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nia Williams)
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