Jet returns to Calif. airport after bird strike

[April 10, 2009]  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A United Airlines flight bound for Chicago had to return to the Sacramento airport after hitting a bird during takeoff.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the pilot of Flight 332 "acted out of an abundance of caution" after the bird struck the plane's nose cone on Thursday.

The plane, carrying 130 passengers, took off again about 90 minutes later after an inspection found no damage. No one on the plane was injured.

The Sacramento airport is in the Pacific flyway for migratory birds and reports more bird strikes annually than any other airport in the western United States.

On Jan. 15, a US Airways jet was forced to land in the Hudson River after hitting a flock of birds shortly after it took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York.

[Associated Press]

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