US regulators have disclosed that an Embraer ERJ-145XR received damage to both engines from a birdstrike while operating a domestic service from Houston.
The incident occurred on 20 April as the United Express jet – operated by CommuteAir – conducted a service to Laredo in Texas.
According to a preliminary US FAA notification, the ERJ-145 encountered a birdstrike “damaging both engines” around 30min into the service.
It was cruising at around 12,000ft in the vicinity of Corpus Christi at the time of the event.
The aircraft continued its flight and arrived in Laredo about 30min later. None of those on board was injured.
In its notification the FAA says the aircraft received “substantial” damage. The ERJ-145 is powered by two Rolls-Royce AE3007 engines.
It identifies the aircraft involved as N14162, which was originally delivered to ExpressJet Airlines in 2004.
