Many people are familiar with bird strikes, where birds collide with aircraft, but a United Airlines flight recently experienced a rare “rabbit strike” incident in the United States, causing an engine to explode and catch fire shortly after takeoff. The flight was forced to return and make an emergency landing, fortunately without any casualties.
According to ABC News, the United Airlines flight number 2325 took off from Denver International Airport on April 13, headed for Edmonton, Canada, but encountered an engine fire incident en route.
Radio communication recordings show that the flight crew reported the engine fire and requested inspection. They received feedback indicating that a rabbit was suspected to have been sucked into one of the engines.
Passenger Scott Wolff told ABC’s “Good Morning America” program, “There was a loud noise and the aircraft shook violently.”
He described how the aircraft continued to climb after the engine caught fire. Every few minutes, a huge fireball would emerge from the engine. Panic ensued among everyone on board.
Keylen Villagrana, public information officer at Denver International Airport, told CNN that after the flight crew decided to return and announced it, the airport’s fire trucks responded according to standard procedures.
The pilot informed the air traffic controller at the tower, “I just want to make sure they have emergency equipment ready for us.”
United Airlines stated in a release that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was carrying 153 passengers and 6 crew members at the time. Following the incident, the flight safely returned to Denver International Airport with no injuries. The passengers on board were rebooked onto another flight to Edmonton.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that the flight crew reported the aircraft had struck an animal during takeoff and returned around 8:05 p.m. local time. The FAA is investigating the incident.
The agency noted that animal strikes on aircraft are not uncommon, with nearly 20,000 recorded incidents at 713 airports in the United States in 2023 alone. However, only 4 incidents involved rabbit strikes, with the vast majority being bird strikes.
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