An American Airlines (AA) Boeing 737 bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) was forced to return to Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) shortly after takeoff on Monday morning after the crew reported an engine problem caused by a bird strike. The flight landed back safely with no injuries reported among the 172 passengers on board. American Airlines took the aircraft out of service for inspection.
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The pilots declared a mayday moments after departure and requested a priority return to the airport, according to a report by ABC News. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crew reported striking a bird during departure and said it will investigate the incident.
American Airlines Flight 1760 Turns Back Minutes After Takeoff
Flight 1760 departed Myrtle Beach around 8:00 a.m. local time on Monday, August 10, 2026, according to FlightAware data. The aircraft landed back at Myrtle Beach at 8:36 a.m., a turnaround of roughly 36 minutes from wheels-up to wheels-down.
The bird strike happened as the aircraft was climbing out after takeoff. Airport crews later found a substantial amount of bird remains and feathers during a runway inspection, and cleared the debris before the flight returned.
The aircraft involved in the bird strike was a Boeing 737-800 registered N825NN, with Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 31087 and Line Number 3178. It was delivered to American Airlines in February 2010, making it approximately 16.5 years old as of May 2026. Its recorded configuration is 16 seats in First Class and 156 in Economy, giving it a total capacity of 172 passengers. According to planespotters.net, the aircraft’s American Airlines fleet number is 3FC, and aircraft records list it as active. The aircraft was ferried from Boeing Field in Seattle to Chicago O’Hare on February 19, 2010, following delivery.
Air Traffic Control Recordings Capture the Mayday Call
Audio obtained from LiveATC.net captured the pilot declaring an emergency shortly after the strike. “Mayday mayday mayday. We’ve got a engine problem,” the pilot told controllers while requesting priority handling back to Myrtle Beach.
A separate pilot flying nearby also contacted air traffic control. That pilot reported watching the American Airlines jet fly through a flock of birds and said he saw smoke coming from its left engine soon afterward.
Eyewitnesses And Passengers Describe Flames from The Engine
According to CNN, passenger Patrick Gotwalt recorded video from inside the cabin showing flames coming from the engine as the aircraft flew back over the water toward the airport. A beachgoer named Lindsey Mackey told reporters she heard several loud popping noises and saw orange flashes coming from the plane’s left wing as it passed overhead.
Despite the visible flames, American Airlines said inspectors found no fire damage or fluid leaks once the aircraft was on the ground. The airline’s maintenance team pulled the jet from service for a full inspection before it flies again.
No Injuries Reported As 172 Passengers Deplane Safely
The aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power, and passengers deplaned normally, according to a statement from Myrtle Beach International Airport. American Airlines said it was working to get the 172 passengers to Charlotte as quickly as possible following the disruption.
The airline has not said whether passengers were rebooked onto a replacement aircraft or another Myrtle Beach-to-Charlotte flight. Charlotte Douglas serves as one of American’s largest hubs, and Myrtle Beach connects to it several times a day during the summer travel season. The route is short, typically under an hour in the air, which meant the diverted flight still landed back at its origin airport quickly once the crew declared the emergency.
Myrtle Beach International Airport handles more than three million passengers a year and sits close to the Atlantic coastline, a setting that can put departing aircraft on flight paths near shorebird habitat. The airport did not report any additional flight delays connected to Monday’s runway inspection.
How This Incident Compares with Earlier American Airlines Bird Strikes
Monday’s event is not the first bird strike to disrupt an American Airlines flight tied to Charlotte. In December 2024, an American Airlines flight from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte diverted to Kennedy Airport after a bird strike, with no injuries reported among the 190 passengers and six crew aboard the Airbus A321. The airline apologized to travelers at the time, saying it was “grateful to our crew for their professionalism” during that incident. Civilian aircraft in the United States reported 20,876 bird strikes in 2024, according to a government report released this month.
FAA Investigation and Aircraft Inspection
The FAA said it will investigate Monday’s bird strike, standard practice for incidents involving a declared emergency. American Airlines’ maintenance team will complete a full inspection of the Boeing 737 before returning it to passenger service.
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No timeline has been given for when the investigation or inspection will conclude. The incident adds to a year that has already produced tens of thousands of reported bird strikes across the US aviation system.
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