A FedEx cargo aircraft made an emergency touchdown at a busy New Jersey airport on Saturday after a chicken strike precipitated an engine fireplace that could possibly be seen within the morning sky.
The aircraft landed at Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport in the course of the emergency, stated Lenis Valens, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There have been no reported accidents, and fireplace on the cargo aircraft was contained to the engine, Valens stated.
Audio recorded by LiveATC captured an individual calmly saying the plane wanted to “shut down for a attainable chicken strike” instantly. “We have to return to the airport.”
Moments later, one other particular person is heard saying: “We consider we noticed their engine fall off the appropriate wing.” The audio signifies the strike occurred when the aircraft was a number of hundred ft off the bottom.
The emergency touchdown precipitated air site visitors to be briefly halted as a precaution, and operations resumed shortly after, Valens stated. The emergency touchdown occurred simply after 8 a.m. Three individuals had been on board, and all acquired off the aircraft safely, Valens stated.
A spokesperson for FedEx stated the aircraft was headed for Indianapolis however because of the chicken strike “declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark after coping with the ensuing engine injury,” which included an engine fireplace.
“The coaching, experience, and professionalism demonstrated by our FedEx pilots was exemplary. We’re grateful for the short actions of our crew and first responders,” stated the spokesperson, Austin Kemker.
Kenneth Hoffman, a pilot on one other flight, stated as his flight was pushing off, they heard from air site visitors management that there was an emergency in progress. Hoffman posted a video on social media of a FedEx aircraft on the bottom on the Newark airport with flames taking pictures from its facet because it slowed to a cease with fireplace rescue tools close by.
Whereas it seemed like everybody was OK, there was plenty of smoke and the airport was shut down for 15 to twenty minutes, Hoffman stated.
The pilots’ response was nice, Hoffman stated.
“They dealt with it like champs,” he stated. “On the finish of the day, that’s what our coaching is all about.”
The Federal Aviation Administration stated it can examine the incident. The FAA stated in a press release that the “strike broken one of many Boeing 767’s engines.” The Nationwide Transportation Security Board additionally stated it will examine.
Chook strikes are aviation hazards that generally trigger main disruptions. Birds had been blamed for bringing down a jetliner that “Sully” Sullenberger landed on the Hudson River in 2009.
The FAA has stated chicken strikes are growing, with greater than 19,000 wildlife strikes at 713 U.S. airports in 2023. Solely hardly ever do they trigger a lot injury that jetliners are pressured to make emergency landings.
The emergency touchdown comes at a time of heightened consciousness of flight issues. Up to now month, there have been 4 main aviation disasters in North America. They embrace the Feb. 6 crash of a commuter aircraft in Alaska that killed all 10 individuals on board and the Jan. 26 midair collision between an Military helicopter and an American Airways flight at Nationwide Airport that killed all 67 aboard the 2 plane.
Related Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine. Brumfield reported from Cockeysville, Maryland.
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