A United Airlines plane was forced into an emergency landing after it caught fire after a rabbit was reportedly sucked into its engine.
The flight in the US issued an alert following a “giant fireball” after the reportedly got stuck in the plane’s engine before take off.
The animal got stuck in the right engine of the United Airlines flight sending jets of fire shooting out of the wing, eyewitnesses said.
There were 159 people on board the flight heading from Denver to Edmonton on Sunday, according to local television channel ABC7.
Chaos on a United Airlines flight heading to Edmonton after one of the engines caught on fire due to what the airline called a ‘wildlife strike.’
— YEGWAVE (@yegwave) April 16, 2025
After the crew declared a mayday and shut down the right engine, the plane made an emergency landing in Denver, its original point of… pic.twitter.com/NDC8dGdkD1
Scott Wolff, who was on the plane, described hearing a “loud bang” as the plane began to vibrate as it climbed in the air.
He explained: "Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fire ball behind it. Everybody in the plane then started to panic.”
Video from inside the cabin showing large flames shooting from the engine.Meanwhile, Wyatt McCurry explained that his “stomach dropped” as he saw the fire shooting from the plane while on the ground.
The plane was turned around after around 75 minutes in the air and landed safely. There were no reports of injuries.
"The aircraft returned to the gate, and we've lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way," an airline spokesperson said told ABC7.
