CINCINNATI – Aviation safety investigators are analysing the remnants of a dramatic mid-air emergency after an Amazon Prime Air freighter was forced into a harrowing return to Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) on Wednesday, 28th of January, 2026. The incident, involving a widebody Airbus A330-300, underscores the persistent threat of bird strikes in high-density cargo hubs.
The flight, operating as AS-2616 and utilising an air carrier partner, was bound for Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). What was scheduled as a routine three-hour haul turned into a life-threatening eight-minute race against time for the two-person crew.
Eight Minutes of Crisis
According to flight telemetry from FlightAware, the aircraft (registered as N5827K) departed CVG at 3:05 p.m. local time. The ascent was normal until the aircraft reached approximately 3,000 feet, at which point the crew reported a massive bird ingestion into the No. 1 (left) engine.
Moments after the initial strike, the situation escalated from a power loss to a critical fire and smoke event. Air traffic control (ATC) recordings capture the calm yet urgent professional response from the cockpit:…