A United Airlines passenger plane was forced to return to Sydney Airport on Monday morning after apparently striking a number of birds when taking off.
Emergency service workers were called to the
international terminal about 10.50am to meet United Airlines Flight 840,
which had taken off at 9.40am. The plane, bound for Los Angeles, was carrying 308 passengers and crew.
"Unbeknownst to me, we apparently hit birds during takeoff and
flight crew spotted bird strike damage to the plane," a passenger wrote
on Instagram.
The plane circled over the ocean off Sydney, and the passenger said
it dumped fuel, before landing safely at Sydney Airport just after 11am.
No one was injured.
The passenger posted a video taken as the
plane dumped fuel, and said it was a "tad unnerving to watch this out
your window. All is fine, however, and that is most important!"
United
Airlines said in a statement that the flight returned to Sydney Airport
"right after take-off due to a possible bird strike".
"United
Airlines confirmed the aircraft safely returned to the airport at
11.13am and the flight has been cancelled. United Airlines is currently
working to re-accommodate passengers on the next available flight and
apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused," the airline said.
