A United Airlines flight caught fire midair thanks to a bird, er, rabbit strike.
The plane, carrying 153 passengers, had just taken off from Denver on Sunday, headed to Edmonton in Canada, when passengers heard a bang. Terrifying footage circulating online shows an orange glow spread across the ceiling of the cabin and flames shooting out from a wing while people are screaming. One girl could be heard saying, "Mommy, I'm scared." (See video below, posted by @OnDisasters.)
Fortunately, nobody was injured, and the plane "returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike," according to a statement by United, via ABC News.
From ABC News:
LiveATC audio documents the flight crew asking that the plane be inspected for an engine fire and being told that it was a rabbit that apparently got sucked into an engine.
"Rabbit through the number 2, that'll do it," the pilot responded. …
"There was a loud bang, and a significant vibration in the plane," passenger Scott Wolff told "Good Morning America."
"Every few moments there was a backfire coming from the engine, a giant fireball behind it," he said. "Everyone in the plane then started to panic."
Previously: Flight recorders on doomed Korean airliner stopped recording
