Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Just in time for Easter, a United Airlines was forced to return to Denver after ingesting a rabbit into one of the engines during takeoff. Yes, you read that right, a rabbit somehow made its way into the engine as the plane was departing.
United Airlines Flight Ingests Rabbit on Takeoff
The incident occurred on Sunday April 13, 2025 as United Airlines Flight 2325 departed Denver International Airport (DEN) bound for Edmonton Airport (YEG). I didn’t see anything about it until yesterday and it has been making the rounds on social media today.
The Boeing 737-800, registration N27213, was taking off from Runway 34L around 7:20p local time when a rabbit was ingested into the #2 engine, located on the right-hand side of the aircraft.
As a result of the incident, a fire began in the engine and could be seen by passengers inside of the aircraft and by spectators on the ground.
In a reminder of just how safe air travel is, aside from the flames, the plane is flying along just fine (all twin engine aircraft can operate on a single engine if needed). After takeoff, the aircraft circled the airport for roughly 40 minutes before returning back to Denver, landing back on Runway 34L.
After returning to Denver International Airport, passengers were transferred onto a different plane to continue their trip to Edmonton. Repairs were made to the aircraft involved and it returned to revenue service on Tuesday.
How in the World did a Rabbit Cause This?
Incidents between airplanes and wildlife are uncommon but do happen from time to time. For the most part these involve birds as they are difficult to keep away from runways. Occasionally, other animals make headlines, like when an American Eagle aircraft struck a deer in Charlotte.
A rabbit getting ingested into an engine is a real head scratcher. It’s unlikely that the rabbit entered the engine at the gate, given the lengthy taxi out to the runway. Therefore, it must have been ingested somewhere along the runway during takeoff.
It will take some time before we know exactly what happened but, the FAA is investigating the incident. In a statement, the FAA stated, “United Airlines Flight 2325 returned safely to Denver International Airport around 8:05 p.m. local time on Sunday, April 13, after the crew reported striking an animal while departing. The Boeing 737-800 was headed to Edmonton International Airport in Canada. The FAA will investigate.”
I’m at a loss as to how this happened. The only thing I can think of is that the rabbit was hopping along the runway when it was sucked into the engine. If anyone has any other theories I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Summary
A United Airlines Boeing 737-800 ingested a rabbit into one of the aircraft’s engines during departure from Denver International Airport. The flight, bound for Edmonton, circled for roughly 40 minutes before returning to DEN. No passengers or crew were harmed during the incident, though I am curious as to exactly how the rabbit ended up in the engine.
