After hitting a coyote on the runway, a United Airlines plane took off on a 40-minute flight that went nowhere.
A Boeing 737 Max was taking off from Chicago O’Hare Airport on Monday, going to Phoenix, when the accident happened.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane “struck a coyote on departure.” It also said that the right nose gear of the plane was broken.
According to the FAA’s warning, the damage was very small.
According to United, the plane, which was flying as Flight 1727, “safely returned to Chicago O’Hare International Airport to examine the aircraft after its landing gear struck a coyote during takeoff.”
United said there were 167 passengers and six crew members on board. There were no reports of accidents.
Flightradar24 data shows that the plane took off smoothly and rose to about 6,000 feet before making a U-turn.
It flew around twice and then came back to land in Chicago about 40 minutes after taking off.
Audio records saved by LiveATC.net show air traffic control telling the pilots that inspection equipment was ready to go for when the plane landed.
Flightradar24 says that the same 737 Max took off again four hours after the accident, so it wasn’t too bad for the company.
Business Insider asked the Chicago Department of Aviation for a word, but they didn’t answer right away.
Wildlife control plans are used at airports because animals can be dangerous to planes, though birds are usually the biggest problem.
The FAA says that the chance of wildlife strikes has “increased dramatically” in the past few years. This is because there are more animals around and the engines on newer planes are much quieter.
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