A bird strike sparked an engine fire on a plane shortly after it took off Sunday from an Ohio airport, and the airliner returned safely with no injuries reported, authorities said.
American Airlines flight 1958 had departed from John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus around 7:45 a.m. and was headed to Phoenix. The fire was detected a short time later and the Boeing 737 returned to the airport, where firefighters quickly doused the flames.
It wasn't clear how many passengers and crew members were aboard the aircraft. The airline said the plane was taken out of service for maintenance and it was working to get the passengers on other flights.
Airport officials said the facility remained operating as usual and the fire only caused some minor flight delays.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.
The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are being found among the wild birds that spread it, but there have still been more than 8 million birds killed this year to help control the spread of the disease.
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