The terrifying moment caused “a giant fireball,” prompting everyone to panic, one passenger said.
Passengers on a United Airlines flight experienced quite a scare after an engine fire broke out due to a rare rabbit strike.
The shocking incident happened when the right engine of the plane caught fire on a United flight departing Denver International Airport on April 13. The rabbit reportedly made its way onto the runaway as the plane was heading to Edmonton, Alberta.
According to LiveATC audio recordings, the flight crew requested for the Boeing 737-800, which was transporting 153 passengers and six crew members, to be inspected for an engine fire. They were told a rabbit got sucked into one of its engines, ABC News reports.
“Rabbit through the number two, that’ll do it,” the pilot could be heard saying.
The moment was captured in a video shared by ABC News during a “Good Morning America” broadcast on Wednesday, in which flames could be seen shooting out of the plane’s engine as it ascended into the air.
Passenger Scott Wolff told GMA there was a “loud bang” and “significant vibration in the plane” amid the mishap, but the vessel “proceeded to still climb.”
“Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it,” he added. “Everyone in the plane then started to panic.”
The flight crew initially believed that the engine fire had “locked up” their landing gear, per the LiveATC audio recordings. The flight later returned safely to Denver after being airborne for 75 minutes.
“On Sunday, our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike. The aircraft returned to the gate, and we lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way,” a spokesperson from United Airlines told People in a statement.
Rabbit strikes are very rare on flights with only four being reported in 2024, per the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA is currently investigating the incident.
Source: Huffpost
