Plane forced to turn around after hitting birds in China

An airplane was forced to return to the airport in eastern Chinese city of Hefei after hitting birds en route to Beijing Saturday, but no casualties have been reported.

The China Eastern Airlines plane, MU5169, was struck by birds on its right engine, about 10 minutes after takeoff at 7:58 a.m., 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 flight was canceled later and passengers were transferred to another plane.

It is the second such accident in two days at the Xinqiao airport.

On Friday afternoon, an Air China plane also returned to the airport due to a bird strike about nine minutes after takeoff. No casualties have been reported.

The aviation authorities are investigating the two accidents.