Close call for Air India flight as engine catches fire due to bird strike; lands safely

An India-bound flight out of New Jersey was forced to return to the airport because of an engine fire sparked by a bird strike.

A spokeswoman for the agency that operates Newark Liberty International Airport says no one on board Air India Flight 144 was injured. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokeswoman Erica Dumas says the flight departed for Mumbai with 313 passengers around 4:35 pm Sunday local time. A short time later, the pilot reported a fire in an engine on the plane's left side, and the engine soon shut down.
The plane landed safely around 5:05 pm, and the passengers were taken off the plane without incident.

Dumas said crews tried to tow the plane away, but were unable to because it had "multiple" blown tires.