A FedEx cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday morning at Newark Liberty International Airport with one of its engines on fire after it struck a bird while leaving the airport, officials said.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said there were no reported injuries. There were three people aboard the plane, the authority said.
In a statement, FedEx said the plane was flying from Newark to Indianapolis when the bird strike occurred. “Our crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark,” it said, adding that the plane was being evaluated. The company did not respond to a question about what cargo, if any, was on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the bird strike damaged one of the Boeing 767’s engines. The agency said the plane, FedEx Flight 3609, was disabled on a runway. The Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting unit, the Port Authority Police and Port Authority Operations responded to the emergency landing.
The episode happened at around 8 a.m., and operations resumed at the airport a short time later.
A fire can be seen on the underside of the plane in footage shared on social media. A video of the plane while it was airborne shows a flash of what appears to be fire and then a puff of smoke.
The episode follows a string of aviation disasters, including the midair collision of an Army helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.
It is not uncommon for planes to strike wildlife such as birds, and most episodes do not result in deaths or serious injuries.
There were 19,603 wildlife strikes reported in the United States in 2023, or an average of about 54 strikes each day, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report published in June. Of those strikes, 3.6 percent caused damage.
