A bird struck a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane during takeoff from New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday morning.
The bird strike caused one of the engines to catch on fire.
The plane successfully landed back at Newark airport with no reported injuries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
"Our B767 crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark (after) dealing with the resulting engine damage, including an engine fire. The training, expertise, and professionalism demonstrated by our FedEx pilots was exemplary." FedEx said in a statement cited by USA Today.
The US National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation into the 767's emergency landing, according to Reuters on Saturday evening.
A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport after a bird strike caused an engine fire. No injuries were reported, and the fire on the cargo plane was contained to the engine, said a spokesperson for the Port Authority. pic.twitter.com/a4UaKdScCL
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 2, 2025
Takeoff was at around 8am local time, and the cargo jet was bound for Indianapolis, Indiana.
Earlier today, FedEx #FX3609 returned to Newark due to a reported bird strike and resulting engine fire. The aircraft landed safely 9 minutes after takeoff. Contrary to some media reports, the engine did not erupt in a giant fireball, nor did the engine fall off. pic.twitter.com/d2vSO8ksJ4
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 1, 2025
FlightRadar24 tracked the flight and showed it landed nine minutes after takeoff.
Other notable aviation incidents
Minor aviation incidents such as this aren't uncommon in the US. The National Transportation Safety Board claimed that there were over 1,400 crashes in 2024, according to USA Today.
However, recurring air disasters so far in 2025, most notably January 29's crash between an American Airlines regional jet and a Blackhawk military helicopter, which led to the death of all 67 people aboard both aircraft, have brought wider attention to air accidents.