An United Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a fire broke out when a rabbit was sucked into one of its engines before taking off on the weekend.
Drama footage shows a flame shot in a United Flight 2325 engine flashing repeatedly shortly after Denver International Airport left Denver International Airport on Sunday, April 13.
The pilot can be heard on LiveAtc audio asking to check whether the plane has an engine fire, and the pilot confirmed that it was caused by a rabbit strike.
“The rabbit passes through the number 2 [engine]According to ABC News, the pilot said.
Passenger Scott Wolff told Good Morning America that he heard a “loud explosion” after the unfortunate Rabit was ingested by a turbine, and then “had a significant vibration on the plane” as it continued to rise.
“Every moment, the engine will have a reverse refraction and there is a huge fireball behind it,” he said.
“Everyone on the plane then started panic.”
The FAA told The Outlet that the flight, which carried 153 passengers and six crew members, landed safely in Denver around 8:05 p.m. The passengers were then placed on another plane and continued to Edmonton.
“Our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returns to Denver safely to resolve possible wildlife strikes,” Manchester United said in a statement.
The FAA reported more than 20,000 planes in 2024 alone wildlife strikes – most of them birds. During this period, only four rabbit strikes were reported.
Watch the video below.
oh.
A United Airlines flight had a rabbit in one of the aircraft’s engines and caught fire.
Thankfully, the plane landed this time.
Where is Pete Cabres?pic.twitter.com/zsti47hzwv
– Art Candee🍿🥤 (@artcandee) April 16, 2025
