A Dallas-bound American Airlines Airbus A 321 was forced to turn back to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when it hit a bird shortly after takeoff. Photo courtesy Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

SEATTLE, April 28 (UPI) -- A Dallas-bound American Airlines plane was forced to turn back to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when it hit a bird shortly after takeoff.

Some 150 passengers and six crew members were aboard the Airbus A321 when the bird struck the nose cone. Flight 2310 took off at 3:36 p.m. Wednesday and was struck minutes later. The plane remained in the air for almost an hour to burn off some fuel before landing at 4:25 p.m.


The bird strike was enough to cause a large dent but did not put the aircraft in danger, officials said. There were no injuries.

It is not clear what kind of bird hit the plane.