Bird strike forces Cebu Pacific plane to return to airport

A bird strike on Friday morning forced a plane of Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) bound for Bacolod to return to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In a report reaching the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), the pilot of the CEB flight 5J475 requested the Manila Control Tower to return and land on the Manila runway at 7:44 a.m., a few minutes after its takeoff.

“The plane was climbing out of Manila when it encountered bird strike while airborne,” the CAAP’s report said.

The Airbus A320 jet, with registry number RPC 3260 and carrying 104 passengers and six crew members landed safely at the NAIA, the CAAP said.

The plane was grounded while the airline’s mechanic was assessing if it is safe to fly.

It was allowed to fly out of NAIA shortly after the ground mechanic found no damage on the plane.

Bird strikes can be dangerous for airplanes and can even down a big jet as what happened to US Airways Flight 1549 which crashed in the Hudson River after encountering bird strike three minutes into its flight in 2009.