Japan Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Tokyo after suspected bird strike

A Japan Airlines plane bound for New York has returned safely to a Tokyo airport after the pilot reported a bird strike to an engine during take-off. Television footage showed red flame flickering from the left engine as the plane ascended from the runway. JAL said the Boeing 777 carrying 233 passengers and 15 crew members requested an emergency landing minutes after take-off from Haneda International Tuesday. “It seems that a bird got sucked into the left engine when taking off,” a JAL spokesman said. “The plane discarded fuel in the air” to reduce weight ahead of landing, he said. A land ministry official said that a grass field next to one of the 4 runways briefly caught fire after the JAL jet departed but it was soon extinguished. <br/>