CHICAGO – An American Airlines jetliner made an emergency landing Thursday at O’Hare International Airport after its left engine caught fire, apparently when a goose was sucked into the engine shortly after takeoff.
“The pilots saw birds. They tried to avoid them, but there’s only so much you can do,” said American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan.
The plane, a Boeing MD-80 carrying 112 people, landed safely and there were no injuries, Fagan said.
As the Philadelphia-bound plane rose into the air, several people on the ground said they heard an explosion overhead and saw flames shooting from the engine, Chicago Fire Department officials said.
In neighborhoods around O’Hare, authorities found pieces of metal debris believed to have fallen from the airplane. No injuries or damage were immediately reported on the ground.
Mohammed Ansari, manager of a UPS store near the airport, said a piece of debris fell near his store.
“One of my customers said he was inside his house and it made a lot of noise when it landed,” he said.
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