Bird Strikes Engine of SFO-bound Plane
Safe re-landing back in Denver
Updated 3:30 PM PST, Tue, Feb 3, 2009
A United Airlines flight headed from Denver to SFO was forced to turn around this afternoon when it hit a bird, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The story has just about everyone thinking about the Miracle on the Hudson from two weeks ago. This time the plane was able to land on the tarmac instead of a river.
Flight No. 77 departed from Denver International Airport shortly after noon, but soon after takeoff a bird was sucked into one of the plane's two engines.
The plane returned to the Denver airport and landed without incident, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. He did not know the extent of damage to the plane but said no passengers were hurt.
Last month, Danville pilot Chesley Sullenberger became a national hero when he landed a U.S. Airways plane in the Hudson River in New York after the plane struck birds, disabling both of its engines. Everyone on board the plane survived.
Gregor said it is fairly common for planes to hit birds. Between 1990 and 2008, he said, more than 100,000 birds were sucked into plane engines.
First Published: Feb 3, 2009 3:07 PM PST
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