A United Airlines Boeing 737MAX was damaged during takeoff on Sunday morning after the aircraft hit a coyote as it was speeding along the runway at Chicago O’Hare, damaging the front nose gear and forcing the pilots to make an immediate return.
United flight UA1727 to Phoenix was preparing for departure at around 10 am on January 12 when the wild canine managed to evade Chicago O’Hare’s airfield wildlife teams and sneak onto the runway just as the six-year-old plane was accelerating for takeoff.
It’s not clear whether the pilots just didn’t notice the coyote or whether it was too late to abandon the takeoff but the plane ended up impacting the animal on the front right-hand nosegear.
At this point, it was clearly evident to the pilots that they had struck something, and while the plane ended up only sustaining minor damage, we can safely assume that the coyote lost this fight.
The pilots climbed to just 6,000 feet before entering a short holding pattern and then returning straight back to Chicago O’Hare, where engineers were waiting to assess the damage.
For the passengers hoping to get to Phoenix, United managed to find a new plane to get them to their destination around four hours later than planned, while the original aircraft was cleared as airworthy a short time later and was back in the air on Sunday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the plane only sustained minor damage. An official register of accident and aircraft incidents stated: “Aircraft struck a coyote on departure damaging right nose gear.”
Although coyotes are generally considered nocturnal animals, they are increasingly seen during the day, especially in urban areas. Chicago is said to be home to at least 2,000 coyotes.
How the coyote to damage the nosegear of a 737max ? It would have jump pretty high