- By Ajeet Kumar
- Thu, 17 Apr 2025 02:54 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A United Airlines Flight engine burst into flame after reportedly striking an animal on departure from Denver International Airport, prompting pilots to make an emergency landing over the weekend, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control recordings. "United 2325, it looks like you got, every once in a while, little bursts of flame coming out the right engine,” somebody said over the radio. "We think we lost our right motor," a crew member on the plane replies.
The United Airlines flight bound for Canada, a Boeing 737-800 that was carrying 153 passengers and six crew members, landed safely Sunday without reports of any injuries, the airport said in a statement. However, several videos of the incident went viral on social media platforms, where the passengers were seen screaming.
VIDEO: United Airlines flight engine fire
A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Denver after a harrowing incident in which a rabbit was sucked into the aircraft's turbines, triggering an engine malfunction. pic.twitter.com/M6Qj3o0Jlo
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 17, 2025
Bird strikes
The FAA said it is investigating the incident. Animals, particularly birds, hitting aeroplanes isn't uncommon, with nearly 20,000 strikes reported in 2023, according to an FAA report. In the most extreme cases over the years, collisions with wildlife killed 76 people and destroyed 126 aircraft between 1988 and 2023 in the US.
New York helicopter crash
The incident came days after a tourist helicopter plummeted upside down into New York City's Hudson River, killing all six people on board, including a Spanish family with three children and the pilot. Agustin Escobar, CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, the train transportation arm of Germany-based technology company Siemens, was killed in the accident.
Video of the crash showed what appeared to be a large object plunging into the river, followed seconds later by what appeared to be a helicopter blade. Afterwards, emergency and police boats were seen circling around a patch of river where the helicopter was submerged, with only what appeared to be the aircraft's landing gear poking above the water's surface.
(With inputs from agencies)