A China Airlines Boeing 747 was forced to return to San Francisco International Airport Saturday afternoon after striking a bird shortly after take-off, an airport official reported.
The Boeing, carrying cargo on a trans-Pacific flight, landed back at SFO without incident at 2:55 p.m., said Jeff Figone, airport duty manager. Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, the bird strike raised concerns about safety that necessitated the aircraft’s return, Figone said.
The Twitter account @EightOneECHO tweeted that flight 5107 left San Francisco at 1:39 p.m. and was bound for Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. The account, citing air traffic control communications, said there was possible damage to instruments and shared a video of the plane apparently dumping fuel as it made its return to the airport.
⚠️Developing – China Airlines Boeing 747 Flt. 5107 currently off the coast of San Francisco with a fuel dump in progress. This flight departed SFO @flySFO at 1:39pm and was headed for Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. @abc7newsbayarea @CBSSF @nbcbayarea @KTVU #AvGeek https://t.co/qzY6OdMHyn
— 🇺🇸 EightOne | ECHO (@EightOneECHO) January 4, 2020
Update – fuel dump now complete – CAL5107 now heading back to SFO RWY 28R for landing – advising 157,000 lbs of fuel on board!
— 🇺🇸 EightOne | ECHO (@EightOneECHO) January 4, 2020
Figone said it would be typical for a plane, loaded with enough fuel for a trans-Pacific flight, to need to off-load some of the fuel in order to make a safe landing. He said the plane would undergo checks of its instruments and could refuel and return to the air later in the day.
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