#WATCH: American Airlines flight carrying 173 passenger sees mid-air fire after hitting birds

Ohio: A bird strike on a Sunday morning led to mid-air fire in one of the engines of an American Airlines aircraft bound to Phoenix forcing it to turn around and land at Ohio’s John Glenn Columbus International Airport.

According to flight tracking website FlightAware, takeoff was scheduled at 7:43 a.m. and the bird strike occurred about 8 a.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Shortly after, the plane made a safe turn back towards the airport and landed, according to American Airlines.

“The flight landed normally and taxied safely to the gate under its own power,” it said. “The aircraft was taken out of service for maintenance and our team is working to get customers back on their way.”

According to radio communications with an air traffic controller, the Boeing 737-800 was carrying 30,000 pounds of fuel in addition to 173 passengers and crew members.

There were no reported injuries.

A mobile video of an engine fire following a strike surfaced hours later. It depicted flames from the No. 2 engine licking the right wing of the flying aircraft. The video was shot by one of the passenger through the aircraft window.

According to FlightAware, the flight’s diverted version was only a few minutes away from touching down at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday afternoon.

John Fisher, a passenger was quoted in a report saying that the sounds created by the collision rapidly alerted passengers to the bird hit.

He explained that the engine began generating extremely loud “clonk, clonk, clonk” noises when the vehicle apparently hit a flock of geese. At some point, they stopped the engine, made a U-turn, and returned to the airport.

An American Airlines 737 made an emergency landing at an Ohio airport after catching fire due to a bird strike. pic.twitter.com/Caw3wASezV

— Treeni (@_treeni) April 24, 2023

The John Glenn Columbus International Airport’s flight and arrival schedules were unaffected by the emergency response after the plane touched down, according to the airport.

The airport initially put the return of the aircraft down to an engine fire, but later claimed that “mechanical issues” were to blame.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, bird strikes have been responsible for 350 fatalities during domestic passenger flights in the United States over the course of the history of the industry.

According to the union of pilots, the number of Canada geese in the nation has increased threefold in the last ten years. According to the report, they may independently damage engines and weigh on average 12 pounds.

It advises pilots to stay away from wetlands, be aware of the seasons and patterns of bird migration, and constantly be ready for bird strikes as they seem to be unavoidable.

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