A United Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a “rabbit strike” caused its right engine to burst into flames after the aircraft took off.

The flight had departed Denver International Airport airport on April 13 and was headed to Edmonton in Canada when air traffic control audio recorded the flight crew asking for a plane inspection, ABC News reported.

The crew was told a rabbit on the runway had apparently got sucked into one of its engines.

“Rabbit through the number two, that’ll do it, alright,” the plane’s pilot was heard saying.

“Use caution for rabbit activity,” the control tower had warned the flight crew. “A rabbit was reported… heading towards your runway.”

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, carrying 153 passengers and six crew, turned around after about 75 minutes in the air.

“Our flight from Denver to Edmonton (UA2325) returned safely to Denver to address a possible wildlife strike. The aircraft returned to the gate, and we lined up a new aircraft to get our customers on their way,” United Airlines said in a statement. 

Video recorded from inside the flight cabin showed large flames shooting from one of its engines.

An air passenger at the airport, Mr Wyatt McCurry, captured video of the plane partially in flames.

“My stomach dropped and I just thought, ‘I’m going to see a plane go down’,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident.

Aircraft hit wildlife at Denver International Airport more than 800 times in 2024, according to data from the FAA.

Most of the animals struck were birds, similar to the incident at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, when a Jeju Air landed on its belly, collided with a concrete barrier and burst into flames, killing 179 of 181 people onboard.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.