FedEx plane makes emergency landing in New Jersey after bird strike, engine fire
A FedEx cargo plane landed in an emergency at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after a bird strike caused a fire.
Air traffic after the emergency landing was briefly stopped, but operations resumed shortly afterwards, New York and New Jersey Port Authority spokesman Lenis Valens said.
Valence said the three were on the boat and all left the plane safely.
Valence said no injuries were reported and the engine contained a fire on the cargo.
“We need to go back to the airport”
The audio recorded by Liveatc captured a calm man saying FedEx aircraft needed to “shut down possible bird strikes” immediately. “We need to go back to the airport.”
A moment later, another person heard saying, “We believe we saw their engines fall from the right wing.” The audio shows that a bird strike occurred when the plane was hundreds of feet above the ground.
A FedEx spokesman said the plane was heading to Indianapolis but was “declared an emergency and returned to Newark safely after dealing with the resulting engine damage,” which included a massive engine fire.
“Our FedEx pilots demonstrated training, expertise and professionalism are exemplary. We thank the crew and first responders for their quick action,” said spokesman Austin Kemker.
“They handle it like a champion”
Another pilot, Kenneth Hoffman, said they heard from air traffic control that an emergency was underway when his flight left. Hoffman posted a video on social media of FedEx planes on the ground at Newark Airport, where flames shot from Newark Airport as nearby fire rescue equipment slowed down. Hoffman said that although it sounded ok, there was a lot of smoke and the airport was closed for 15 to 20 minutes.
Hoffman said the pilot’s response was great.
“They handle it like a champion,” he told the Associated Press. “At the end of the day, that’s what our training is all about.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the incident. “The strike damaged one of the Boeing 767’s engines,” the FAA statement said. The National Transportation Safety Commission also said it would investigate.
Bird strikes rarely force emergency landing
Bird strikes are aviation hazards and can sometimes cause significant damage. The bird was blamed for landing a jet plane Captain “Sully” Sullenberger lands on the Hudson River In 2009.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said bird strikes are increasing, with more than 19,000 wildlife attacks in 2023 at 713 U.S. airports. Only very few would cause too much damage that the jetliner was forced to cause an emergency landing.
Emergency landing in Newark is a time to raise awareness of flight problems. There have been four major aviation disasters in North America in the past month. These include flights in the delta Overturned on landing in Toronto February 17, February 6 crash Commuter planes in Alaska This killed all 10 people on the ship, aerial collision on January 26 Army helicopters and American Airlines flights At Reagan National Airport, the two planes killed 67.
