The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after a bird strike forced an American Airlines flight to return to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) on Monday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-bound flight reported an engine issue shortly after takeoff, with video taken by passengers showing flames shooting out from under the plane's left wing.
Fortunately, the flight returned to MYR without incident and was able to taxi to the gate so the 172 passengers could deplane normally.
"The aircraft landed safely and has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team," American Airlines confirmed in a statement.
Air traffic control (ATC) recordings obtained from LiveATC.net confirm the pilot reported an "engine problem" as he requested a priority return to the airport.
The recordings also revealed that a "significant amount" of bird remains and feathers were found during a runway inspection after the flight's departure and subsequently cleared.
Although quite common—there were 20,876 bird strikes to civilian aircraft in the U.S. in 2024—bird strikes rarely result in significant damage or emergency landings such as this case.
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