While the concept of an aircraft suffering a bird strike is nothing new, here’s a strange variation of that, as reported by The Aviation Herald.
United 737 has major engine issues after Denver takeoff
This incident happened on Sunday, April 13, 2025, and involves United Airlines flight UA2325, scheduled to fly from Denver (DEN) to Edmonton (YEG). The 1,019-mile flight was operated by a 27-year-old Boeing 737-800 with the registration code N27213, with 153 passengers and six crew members.
The aircraft took off at 7:20PM local time from runway 34L. Shortly after takeoff, the crew declared an emergency, explaining to air traffic controllers that they had lost their right hand engine, and also that they were dealing with a potential fire related to that.
The video footage from inside the cabin is kind of wild, with passengers screaming. Of course I can understand how one would be scared when they see flames coming from the wing, but it’s a great reminder of just how well built aircraft are, and what they can withstand.
After declaring an emergency, the crew requested to enter a holding pattern so that they could work through checklists. The plane landed back in Denver on the same runway around 40 minutes after it first departed, and there were no injuries among passengers or crew.
United quickly found a replacement aircraft, which ended up operating the flight to Edmonton, where passengers arrived around three hours late — that’s a pretty impressive recovery! Meanwhile the aircraft involved in the incident remained on the ground for over 36 hours, before reentering service on April 15.
This incident was reportedly caused by a rabbit
What caused the United 737 to lose its engine after takeoff from Denver? Well, apparently the aircraft ingested a rabbit through its engine. First and foremost, I feel bad for the rabbit… that’s sad. Second of all, that has to be one of the more unusual things to be ingested into an aircraft engine, since one wonders how exactly the rabbit got into the engine in the first place.
Did it somehow run into the engine on the runway, or what? Because it’s not like a rabbit would be resting on the engine cowling for long, before it gets ingested.
At major commercial airports in the United States, aircraft don’t typically deal with many wildlife run-ins, due to precautions that are taken. The exception is birds, as bird strikes can be tough to prevent, even when measures are in place. Meanwhile in some other parts of the world, or at remote airports, there are more potential hazards, including the risk of wildlife roaming the runway.
Bottom line
A United 737 made an emergency return back to Denver, after the aircraft suffered an engine failure and fire shortly after takeoff. While this can happen for a variety of reasons, the cause here was rather unusual, as it was due to a rabbit reportedly being ingested into the engine. How exactly that happened is a great question…
If nothing else, this incident is a great reminder of just how sturdy planes are. Even when something looks as catastrophic from inside the cabin of the cabin as this did, you’re still almost certainly going to be okay.
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