A Chinese plane en route to Beijing was today forced to return to the airport in the country's eastern city of Hefei after it was hit by birds.
No casualties were reported.
The China Eastern Airlines plane returned to the airport after it was struck by birds on its right engine about 10 minutes after the takeoff, a spokesman with the Hefei Xinqiao International Airport said.
The bird strike led to a mechanical fault in the engine, forcing the plane to turn around, the official said.
The flight was later cancelled and passengers were transferred to another plane, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
It is second such accident in two days at the Xinqiao airport.
An Air China plane also returned to the airport yesterday due to a bird strike about nine minutes after takeoff.
