Jet Halts Takeoff When Bird Enters Engine

A Boeing 737 ran off a runway Monday when a bird was sucked into one of the plane’s engines and the pilot aborted the takeoff.

Southwest Airlines flight 436 to Chicago was halfway down the runway of Nashville International Airport when the bird became caught in the engine on the plane’s left side.

The pilot slammed on the brakes when a monitor sounded a warning, Southwest spokeswoman Janna Lewis said. All the tires under the plane’s wings were flattened by the intense braking.

The plane ended up 500 to 800 feet off the end of the runway.

Two of the 122 passengers had minor injuries from sliding down evacuation chutes.