Media: US plane miraculously escapes mid-air explosion VIDEO

A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at Newark Airport in New Jersey on Saturday morning after a bird strike caused one of its engines to catch fire, according to an airport official.

Dramatic footage from the scene shows the plane banking to the right as a large plume of smoke is emitted from its right engine, which is visibly on fire, Caliber.Az reports, citing Fox News.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud explosion, and one person, captured on video, can be heard frantically yelling, "Oh my God, oh my God."

Another video shows the FedEx cargo plane successfully landing while its engine remains in flames. Despite the dramatic scenes, there were no injuries reported. The plane touched down at 8:07 a.m., and while the number of people on board remains unclear, the official confirmed that air traffic was briefly halted as a precaution. However, operations at the airport have since resumed.

The plane involved is a Boeing 767-300 twin-jet aircraft, according to Flight Radar. FedEx confirmed the incident in a statement to Fox News Digital, stating that the flight, which was en route to Indianapolis, had experienced a bird strike during takeoff.

"FedEx Flight 3609 from Newark to Indianapolis experienced a bird strike during takeoff," the company said. "Our B767 crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark after dealing with the resulting engine damage, including an engine fire. The training, expertise, and professionalism demonstrated by our FedEx pilots was exemplary. We are thankful for the quick actions of our crew and first responders."

The FAA confirmed that the flight landed safely after the bird strike while departing the airport and stated that it would investigate the incident.

Bird strikes are a common occurrence in aviation and can have serious consequences. In 2023, the U.S. recorded 19,603 bird strikes, a 14 percent increase from the 17,205 strikes reported in 2022, according to an FAA report. Since 1988, bird strike-related incidents have resulted in 76 fatalities and the destruction of 126 aircraft.

By Khagan Isayev