A Boeing 767-322 aircraft operated by United Airlines sustained "significant damage" to its number one engine after a bird strike at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The incident occurred on takeoff, according to a preliminary report on the FAA website. The aircraft returned to the airport and landed without incident. No one was injured.United Flight 843 was departing Chicago for Sao Paulo, Brazil on the evening of March 15, 2006. After the bird strike, the number one engine was shut down. A report about the incident on the website of ABC7, a Chicago TV station, says that the bird ingestion caused a fire in the engine. That article includes a link to a home video that shows what appears to be a fire on an airborne plane, purportedly the flight that experienced the bird strike.
The Chicago Tribune quoted a United Airlines spokeswoman who said that "United inspectors later determined that multiple large birds got inside the engine."
The flight was canceled after the incident. Passengers were put up in hotels and continued on their journey to Brazil the following day.
