Robert Besser
07 Mar 2025

NEWARK, New Jersey: Over the weekend, a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane hit a bird while taking off from Newark Airport.

One of its engines caught fire, and the pilots had to make an emergency landing.

FedEx Flight 3609 was flying to Indianapolis but returned to land just nine minutes after takeoff at 7:58 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the bird strike caused the engine to catch fire, forcing the pilots to land quickly. "Video shows the pilots safely landing the plane while the engine was on fire," he said.

FedEx has not yet commented on the incident.

Duffy mentioned a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation that recorded over 19,000 bird strikes in 2023, a 14 percent increase from 2022. The report found that 65 percent of bird strikes happen during takeoff or landing, and about five percent cause aircraft damage.