Credit: Website for the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL.org)
In a dramatic but fortunately uneventful incident, American Airlines Flight 2035, an Airbus A321 en route from Philadelphia International Airport to San Francisco, returned to its departure airport Wednesday morning after striking multiple birds shortly after takeoff.
The aircraft landed safely, and officials confirmed no injuries among passengers or crew.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to reporters that the bird strike occurred and that it has launched an investigation to assess what led to the collision and its aftermath.
Bird strikes are a growing concern across the aviation industry. According to the Associated Press, in the previous year alone, the FAA documented nearly 19,400 bird strikes across 713 U.S. airports, though most do not result in emergency landings.
Incidents involving severe outcomes, such as engine fire or loss of thrust, make headlines precisely because they remain rare, yet potentially hazardous.
For example, in December 2024, an American Airlines A321 was forced to make an emergency landing at New York’s JFK Airport after a bird strike disabled one engine just after departing LaGuardia.
That event drew chilling comparisons to the famed “Miracle on the Hudson” in 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River following bird strikes on both engines. Thankfully, Wednesday’s incident did not escalate anywhere near that level.
While rare, high-profile events like these underscore the ongoing challenge airports face in managing bird populations around airfields.
Techniques such as habitat modification, wildlife dispersion tools (like pyrotechnics or loud noises), and radar detection systems are increasingly being deployed to mitigate strike risks. The FAA continues to work with airport authorities and airlines to bolster such preventive measures.
Details regarding the aircraft’s next flight remain under review, pending maintenance inspection.
