A Japanese Airlines plane traveling to New York returned safely today to Tokyo after the pilot reported that a bird had hit one of the engines during takeoff, the Associated Press reported.

There were shots showing red flames coming out of the left engine after the plane's take-off. "Japan Airlines" said Boeing 777, with 233 passengers and 15 crew members, requested an emergency landing few minutes after its departure from Haneda International Airport. The plane has returned to the airport about an hour after takeoff. There is no information about injured people. The airline said it would check the engine. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Haneda Airport was hit hardest by bird crashes last year - 182 cases, followed by Osaka with 73 cases and Narita with 57 cases. Not all collisions with birds, however, have had effects on the flights.