Air India flight returns to New Jersey airport after bird strike

By David Jones NEWARK New Jersey (Reuters) - An Air India flight with 313 passengers onboard was forced to return to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday after a bird strike caused an engine on the Boeing 777 to catch fire, according to airport officials. A few minutes after taking off, the pilot of Air India Flight 144 reported flames coming from an engine on the left side of the aircraft, according to Erica Dumas, spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The pilot then dumped fuel before returning to the airport about half an hour after taking off. The pilot requested that an ambulance wait at the terminal but there were no reported injuries, Dumas said. She added that the flight bound for Mumbai had multiple blown tires and was now disabled on a taxiway. The airline was searching for alternate flights for passengers to India. Dumas said the airport was operating normally as of Sunday evening. (Editing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra Maler)