Airplane Forced to Make Emergency Landing After Bird Strike Causes Aircraft to Burst into Flames During Takeoff

A FedEx cargo plane had to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey shortly after take-off, as part of the aircraft was set ablaze when it hit a bird.

FedEx Flight 3609 was headed for Indianapolis on the morning of Saturday, March 1, when it had to make a sudden return to the airport at around 8:07 a.m. local time due to the “bird strike,” the airport told PEOPLE in a statement. The aircraft struck the animal during takeoff, FedEx confirmed.

A video shared on X appears to show that the collision caused part of the cargo plane to catch on fire, with flames still burning near one of its wings as it touched back down at the airport.

A different video of the incident shared on X, meanwhile, appears to show the plane burning while still in the air, with flames visible near the wing as it slowly makes its descent to the tarmac.

A third angle of the emergency return to Newark posted on the social media app shows fire burning brightly under the aircraft’s right wing.

After the collision, the crew of the cargo plane “declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark after dealing with the resulting engine damage, including an engine fire,” FedEx told PEOPLE in a statement.

“The training, expertise, and professionalism demonstrated by our FedEx pilots was exemplary. We are thankful for the quick actions of our crew and first responders,” the company added.

Due to the incident, air traffic “was briefly halted as a precaution, but operations have since resumed,” a spokesperson for the airport said.

It is not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard the flight, but there were no injuries reported as a result of the emergency landing, according to the airport.

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Addressing the fire and emergency landing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the FedEx cargo plane was a Boeing 767, and the bird strike damaged one of its engines.

As of the morning of March 1, the aircraft remained “disabled on a runway,” the FAA said.

The organization added that is aware of the wildlife strike and subsequent emergency landing and plans to investigate.