Charlotte-Bound Flight Turns Around After Bird Strikes Engine

A U.S. Airways flight bound for Charlotte struck a bird Monday morning and returned to Norfolk International Airport. A bird hit an engine of the Boeing 737 during its initial climb shortly after takeoff from its scheduled 7 a.m. flight. A U.S. Airways spokeswoman says the pilot quickly decided to turn around. She doesn't know if one of the plane's two engines quit working, but the executive director of the Norfolk airport told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper that the bird strike damaged four internal engine fan blades. Most of the 137 passengers were scheduled to connect to other flights in Charlotte. Instead, all were diverted to other flights in Norfolk. The type of bird that hit the plane is unknown. A blood sample will be sent to Smithsonian Institution to determine that. It was Canada Geese that struck U.S. Airways Flight 1549 nearly two years ago before it safely landed in the Hudson River.