Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Cincinnati after devastating bird strike: report

A flock of geese was slaughtered by an Alaska Airlines flight, almost bringing the blood-splattered plane down mid-air and forcing it to make an emergency landing at a Cincinnati airport, a National Transportation Security Board review concluded Wednesday.

At least eight Canada geese were shredded to pieces when they were either struck by, or vacuumed into, the plane last month, the NTSB confirmed in its official report.

Alaska Airlines flight 2616, an Amazon cargo flight bound from Cincinnati to Hebron, Kentucky, turned tail while in mid-flight, back to its origin, after reports of a dangerous bird strike on Jan. 28.

The captain called out “birds!” moments before the crew “felt multiple birds impact the left and right side of the airplane,” according to the NTSB report.

The left engine, where “evidence of bird ingestion” was found, failed entirely while the plane was in the air.

While the aircraft was descending back to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, smoke began filling the cockpit, sending the oxygen masks flying down, the NTSB found — although the smoke dissipated by the time the crew “[configured] the airplane for landing.”

The flight crew didn’t find any evidence of a fire while conducting a sweep of the aircraft back on the ground, the report concluded.

But more evidence of “bird remnants” were found on the left main landing gear door and strut, left-wing inboard flap, right engine pylon, right-wing leading-edge slat, and the slat track during a post-accident inspection, the report found.

Photographs showed the beat-up left engine with a “visibly misaligned” fan and blades also mangled after eviscerating the geese.

Splatters of blood appeared to stain the right wing and left landing leg.

The investigation remains ongoing, the NTSB said.

It’s not the first time a bird strike nearly took down an aircraft.

An American Airlines flight out of New York City’s LaGuardia airport pivoted for an emergency landing at nearby JFK airport in December 2024 after a bird was sucked into the plane’s engine.

The engine appeared to ignite and explode into flames on impact as the plane tilted to the side. Passengers told The Post that they “prayed” and thought they were “gonna die” during the whirlwind descent.

Miraculously, no injuries were reported and the shaken passengers re-departed the following morning.

The Post reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment.