A GOL Linhas Aéreas Boeing 737-800 returned to Recife on Monday 5 October 2026 after a bird strike shortly after departure left its right engine throwing sparks and visible flames over the southern suburbs of the city.
Flight G3 1587 to São Paulo Guarulhos landed safely back at Recife Guararapes International Airport at 13:47 local time, and no injuries were reported.
Bird Strike Shortly After Departure From Recife
The aircraft involved was Boeing 737-8EH PR-GXL.
Flightradar24 data shows the jet had only arrived in Recife from Guarulhos as G3 1586 at 12:02 local time, and it was turned around in a little over an hour.
It lifted off again at 13:16, 26 minutes behind its scheduled departure.
Shortly after departure the 737 struck a bird, which was ingested into the right CFM56 engine.
Residents of Piedade in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, directly beneath the departure path out of Recife, filmed flashes and flames erupting from the engine as the aircraft climbed overhead.
The clips spread rapidly across social media within minutes.
Crew Holds Over Area Before Landing
Rather than landing immediately, the crew flew several circuits over the Recife metropolitan area while they worked through the relevant checklists and reduced the fuel load ahead of an overweight landing.
The 737 touched down at 13:47, 31 minutes after it had departed.
Airport operator Aena Brasil said the crew requested a return to Recife and that no emergency was declared.
CBN Recife reported the airport was closed for around an hour while the aircraft was recovered, although Aena said Recife was operating normally by mid afternoon.
Passengers disembarked normally and the aircraft was handed to maintenance for inspection.
GOL Says No Fire Despite Recife Footage
GOL confirmed the return was caused by a bird strike but pushed back on the footage, stating there was no fire and that the flashes seen from the ground were sparks produced by the bird passing through the engine.
Affected passengers received assistance under ANAC Resolution 400 and were rebooked onto later departures from Recife.
The airline’s explanation is consistent with a compressor stall.
When a bird disrupts the airflow through the fan and compressor, the engine can surge, momentarily ejecting unburnt fuel from the exhaust.
That produces the loud bangs and bursts of flame that look alarming from the ground but are not a sustained engine fire.
The occurrence has been logged by the Aviation Safety Network.
Recife Return Follows Goiânia Engine Event
The Recife incident is the second engine related event for GOL in less than two weeks.
On 23 September a GOL 737 rejected its takeoff at Goiânia after flames were seen from one of its engines, closing the runway for around 90 minutes.
Both aircraft stopped safely, but the pair of viral videos has put the carrier’s engine reliability under public scrutiny in Brazil.
For Recife, the episode is a reminder that bird activity around the coastal airport remains a persistent hazard.
The crew of G3 1587 handled it exactly as trained, and the aircraft will return to service once the engine has been inspected and cleared.
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