Horizon Air Embraer E175 forced to return to Anchorage after engine ingests Eagle

A Horizon Air plane operating for Alaska Airlines out of Anchorage, Alaska, had to turn back shortly after takeoff due to a bird strike.

Such incidents are not so uncommon and airplanes are often forced to turn around due to fear of structural damage, particularly if the bird has been ingested by the engine.

On December 24, a Horizon Air Embraer E175 operating flight for Alaska Airlines between Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) and Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) had to return to Anchorage shortly after takeoff because of a bird strike.

According to reports, the aircraft hit an eagle during its climb out of the airport and the pilots decided to turn around as a precautionary measure.

Passengers were told that the plane was heading back to Anchorage out of an abundance of caution and were made aware of the bird strike once it was brought back safely on the ground.

Thankfully, the aircraft had a safe landing and there were no reports of any passenger injury, but the same couldn’t be said about the eagle.

Alaska’s News Source quotes one of the passengers as saying,

“The eagle survived at that time. And there were a bunch of police cars around the plane. Normally, it would be a scarier situation, but knowing that it was a bird ... and then they said the eagle was going to the eagle hospital, and he had a broken wing.”

The eagle was taken to the Alaska Bird Treatment and Learning Center (BIRD TLC) in Anchorage where its physical damage was assessed.

It sustained severe injuries, including an open fracture on its left wing.

Bird TLC Executive Director Laura Atwood said that the damage to the wing was so severe that the bird couldn’t be sent for rehabilitation.

Unfortunately, there was no option left but to euthanize it.

The aircraft involved in the incident was temporarily grounded for inspection but was later returned to service. Passengers were accommodated on a different plane for their flight to Fairbanks.

Bird strikes are not that uncommon in commercial aviation. The severity of the situation depends upon the nature of the strike, but in most cases, the aircraft is safely brought back to the ground.

There have been several cases of bird strikes in the last few months. In November, a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 was involved in a bird strike while approaching Nashville Airport (BNA) from Orlando International Airport (MCO).

It encountered the bird strike at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet as it descended toward the airport.

The plane was grounded for a while and was ferried to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) after the incident.

The same month, a KLM Airbus A330 flying from Amsterdam to Houston had to return to Amsterdam shortly after takeoff when both engines ingested birds during the initial climb out.

In November, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-900ER from San Jose to Atlanta had to return to the airport shortly after takeoff because of a bird strike. Once again, the decision to turn back was a precautionary one.

But perhaps the most famous incident of bird strike involved US Airways flight 1549 between LaGuardia Airport in New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina in 2009.

The aircraft was hit by a flock of birds after takeoff and the damage was severe enough to shut down both engines.

In command of the flight was Captain Chesley Sullenberger along with first officer Jeffrey Skiles. After determining that returning to LaGuardia or landing at nearby Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, was not possible, it was decided that a water landing on the Hudson River was their best bet.

Miraculously, everyone onboard the plane survived and was rescued within half an hour of landing in the water. Simple Flying has analyzed the incident in detail in the article below.