Women’s Super League football club Arsenal were aboard their team plane ready to leave Germany and head back to England when the engine caught fire, causing everyone to disembark and spend an extra night in Germany.
According to multiple reports, a bird flew into one of the engines prior to takeoff, causing the fire on the left side of the plane.
“Our aircraft developed a technical issue prior to take-off in Germany on Sunday evening. As a result, we remained in Wolfsburg overnight on Sunday before flying back to England on Monday afternoon. We would like to thank the staff on board the aircraft and on the ground at the airport for their assistance,” a statement on behalf of Arsenal read.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, bird strikes are fairly common and happen most often during takeoff and landing, due to the low altitude.
How Common Are Bird Strikes?
The Arsenal plane did not yet leave the runway at Braunschweig Wolfsburg Airport before the bird strike.
The FAA says about 10,000 bird strikes are reported annually, but that roughly only half actually are being reported. That’s just in the United States. When you add in the rest of the world and the prevalence of commercial flights, it’s easy to assume far more bird strikes occur globally.
Arsenal was in Germany for the Women’s Champions League semifinal at Wolfsburg. Arsenal came back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semifinal.
Arsenal Focused On Champions League
Arsenal’s Katie McCabe talked about winning the Champions League, despite losing captains Kim Little and Leah Williamson to injuries last week.
“We are still in it. We knew from last season this is a difficult place to come to,” said McCabe. “They have fantastic support, and they are a fantastic team, so to show a gutsy performance to come back and make it 2-2, I am really proud of that. It’s all to play for at the Emirates.”
The second leg will take place on May 1 at Emirates Stadium in London. The winner will advance to the Champions League Final to take on either Barcelona or Chelsea on June 3 at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
“We have been in those situations a couple of times this year — against Man City, in the Conti Cup against Chelsea — and we have shown who we are as a team. We know we have the quality to create goalscoring opportunities. We didn’t let [going 2-0 down] affect us. We knew we had something in us, and we showed that,” said McCabe.
“Josh Kroenke [the co-chairman] came in after the game to congratulate us, which was a really nice moment. We have felt the love all season [from the owners] and it just shows how we have that one-club mentality. We want people to come and watch us. We have shown that we can get big support at the Emirates. Next week will be a massive game.”
Thankfully, nobody was injured on Sunday at the airport and Arsenal can focus on trying to capture its second Champions League title in club history.
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