4 February 2009

DENVER: A United Airlines passenger jet has returned safely to Denver airport in Colorado after a bird hit one of its engines shortly after takeoff.

The engine continued working, says the airline, and none of the 151 passengers and crew was injured.

The Boeing 757 had just left for San Francisco when the bird strike happened, and the pilot’s decision to return to the airport was a precaution.

A passenger on the flight, Frank Crowe, said “there was definitely panic but there wasn’t hysteria” after the bird strike.

“We heard a large thump like we hit something, and the pitch of the engine changed dramatically to the point that it got real quiet, and there was a rattling, wheezing noise.”