USA: American Airlines Plane's Nose Damaged After Bird Strike

An American Airlines aircraft bound for Dallas, Texas, turned back mid-flight after bing struck by a bird, leaving a large dent in the plane's nose.

The plane, carrying 150 passengerss, took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday (local time), and landed safely back there a short time later, said officials.

A photo of the damaged aircraft showed the large indentation nearly centred on the plane's nose.

Looks like we hit some birds after takeoff. We're gonna need to go back and have the airplane looked at,' the pilot said over the radio to air traffic controllers, according to ABC News.

The airline apologised to passengers, and spokesman Ross Feinstein said a maintenance crew was evaluating the aircraft.

A spokesman for the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, said it was unclear what type of bird it was, but bird samples were being sent to the Smithsonian Institute for analysis.

Bird strike is not that uncommon. A wayward bird ripped a large hole in the underbody of an Air Nimibia plane as it coming to land at Nambia's capital Windhoek in January. The plane landed safely, and was sent to South Africa for repair.

In March an EgyptAir plane suffered extensive damage after hitting a bird as it came into land at Heathrow. There were more than 70 passengers aboard the flight from Cairo, which managed to land safely despite the damage.

In May 2015, a bird, or flock of birds, did some serious damage to the nose of a Turkish Airlines plane on a domestic flight to Nevsehir. The Jet, carrying 125 passengers, landed safely and there were no reported injuries.