DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Two bald eagles locked together by their talons in a midair battle survived a crash landing onto a runway at a northeastern Minnesota airport.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Randy Hanzal said the adult eagles couldn’t separate Sunday before slamming into the tarmac at the Duluth International Airport.

Hanzal tried to take the birds to a Duluth wildlife rehabilitation center. He covered them with blankets and jackets on the back of his pickup and held them down with webbing straps. En route, Hanzal said, he heard a ruckus and saw one bird jump out and fly away.

The Duluth News Tribune said the other eagle made it to the rehab center and is now being cared for by the University of Minnesota in St. Paul’s Raptor Center.

In this May 12 photo provided by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are two bald eagles after they crash landed on a runway at Duluth

Randy Hanzal