Atlas Air flight 5Y8878 from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Riga, Latvia, made a U-turn and landed back at the departure airport after a suspected bird strike impact to one of Boeing 747F engines.
The Boeing 747F took off from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) at around 11 am (UTC). Initially heading towards Riga International Airport (RIX), the freighter turned back shortly after leaving the Netherlands, diverting back to AMS, where it successfully landed approximately one hour after the departure.
The aircraft was reportedly turned back to allow fixing one of its engines, as it might had been hit by a bird, Aviation Herald reported.
Earlier that day, the Boeing 747-400 freighter (registration number N416MC) arrived in Amsterdam from the United States. In particular, the cargo aircraft operated flight 5Y5421 from Miami International Airport (MIA).
The 17.9 years’ aircraft is powered by four GE CF6 engines.