Emergency Landing: Fiji Airways Boeing 737-800 Returns To Christchurch After Bird Strike

A Fiji Airways flight on Thursday, October 9, ended up circling the skies of Mid Canterbury after the Boeing 737-800 experienced a bird strike on departure. Fiji Airways flight 450 had departed from Christchurch Airport for the nearly four-hour journey to Nadi Airport, Fiji, when the 737-800 hit a flock of birds on departure, forcing the airplane to circle the airport for two hours to burn fuel before declaring an emergency landing.