A United Airlines jet safely returned to O’Hare International Airport on Sunday morning after its landing gear struck a coyote during takeoff.
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 departed about 10 a.m. en route for Phoenix and landed back at O’Hare about 40 minutes later, according to United Airlines and the flight tracking site FlightAware.
The 167 passengers on the plane, plus six crew members, switched to a different plane that took off Sunday afternoon, said United, which didn’t release any other information.
Coyotes tend to be more active in the winter months, especially during mating season from January through March.
On Monday, a coyote was rescued after being trapped in a Humboldt Park supermarket cooler.