Bird strike forces American Airlines flight to return to Myrtle Beach
An American Airlines flight bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, was forced to return to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina shortly after takeoff Monday morning after the crew reported an engine issue due to a bird strike during the plane’s departure.
“The aircraft landed safely and has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” American Airlines said in a statement.
No injuries were reported and the plane taxied to the gate on its own where passengers deplaned normally, according to a statement by Myrtle Beach International Airport.
On air traffic control (ATC) recordings obtained from LiveATC.net, the pilot of the American Airlines plane can be heard saying “Mayday mayday mayday. We’ve got a engine problem” as he requested a priority return to the airport.
The bird strike apparently occurred as the aircraft was taking off. A "significant amount" of bird remains and feathers were discovered during runway inspection after the flight's departure, according to the ATC recording, and were cleared from the runway prior to the flight’s return.
Another nearby pilot told ATC that he saw smoke coming out of the American Airlines plane’s left engine after it hit a flock of birds, according to the ATC recording.
No fire or leaks were found during inspections once the plane landed, according to American Airlines. The carrier said it was working to get the 172 passengers onboard the aircraft to Charlotte as soon as possible.
Bird strikes are common occurrences in commercial aviation. There were 20,876 bird strikes to civilian aircraft in the U.S. in 2024, according to a government report released this month.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident.
ABC News' Victoria Beaule and Matt Foster contributed to this report.
