Passengers left terrified as bird strike knocks out one of plane’s engines at 30,000ft
PASSENGERS were terrified when a bird flew into the engine of a jumbo jet at 30,000ft after take-off from Heathrow.
The plane was forced to make a dramatic return to the UK after one of its engines was shut down yesterday.
Firefighters and police officers lined the runway as the United Airlines jet made an emergency touchdown.
One source said: “It was horrible for everyone. No-one knew what happened, then panic broke out.”
Flight UA883 had taken off for Newark in New York at 8.10am and the plane was over the Essex coastline when the bird strike occurred.
The carrier made a sudden U-turn and returned to Heathrow at 9.20am.
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With birds posing a threat to aircraft, particularly if ingested into the engine, bird hazard management is one of Heathrow staff’s key responsibilities.
But bird strikes still occur, and although 65 percent of them do not cause severe damage to jets they are considered a big risk to flight safety – and are almost always lethal for the animals involved.
According to the Federal Aviation Authority, which keeps track of every reported strike in the United States, there were 16,000 wildlife strikes in 2018 – around 40 incidents per day.
United Airlines told The Sun yesterday: “Our team at London Heathrow is providing assistance to customers of United flight 883 (London Heathrow-New York/Newark) today, which returned to Heathrow following a bird strike.
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“The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked normally. We are making arrangements for our customers to complete their journeys as soon as possible.”