Summary
- A China Cargo Airlines Boeing 777F needed to return to JFK after a bird strike caused a right-hand engine failure.
- The pilots declared PAN-PAN and requested to dump fuel and reduce weight for landing.
- China Cargo Airlines mainly operates Boeing 777F aircraft in its fleet.
A China Cargo Airlines Boeing 777F was forced to return to Recent York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) shortly after take off as a bird strike disabled the widebody’s right-hand engine. The aircraft, registered as B-220F, stays at JFK because the incident happened on November 27, 2023.
Bird strike
In response to Air Traffic Control (ATC) audio, published by VASAviation, the China Cargo Airlines Boeing 777F was initially told to climb to 11,000 feet (3,352 meters), however the pilots requested to climb to five,000 ft (1,524 m). Affirming the request to 11,000 ft (3,352 m), the crew told ATC that they encountered a bird strike shortly after they became airborne, leading to a right-hand engine failure of the 777F. While the pilots never squawked 77000, the overall emergency code, they declared PAN-PAN to tell controllers that they’d an urgent emergency onboard, reiterating a right-hand engine failure. Subsequently, the China Cargo Airlines 777F once more requested to carry at 5,000 ft (1,524 m), also asking whether it was possible to return to JFK.
Photo: Bjoern Wylezich | Shutterstock
Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries data showed that between January 2020 and October 2023, it had delivered only 34 aircraft to China-based customers, including leasing firms. Out of those, 20 were Boeing 777Fs, with Air China Cargo and China Cargo Airlines taking delivery of 1 aircraft each, while China Postal Airlines and China Southern Airlines introduced three and 4 777Fs, respectively.
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