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Bird strike leaves large dent on jetliner’s nose

In this photo provided by the Port of Seattle and taken April 27, a Dallas-bound American Airlines airplane is shown parked at a gate after it returned to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly after takeoff following a bird strike that left a large dent on the airplane’s nose. (Port of Seattle / Associated Press)
Associated Press

SEATTLE – Officials say a Dallas-bound American Airlines flight returned to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport shortly after takeoff after a bird strike left a large dent on the jetliner’s nose.

Sea-Tac Airport officials said that the flight with 150 passengers landed safely back in Seattle Wednesday afternoon. A photo of the damaged aircraft showed the large indentation nearly centered on the plane’s nose.

American airlines apologized to passengers and said it was evaluating the aircraft.

A spokesman for the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport, says it’s unclear what type of bird it was. Brian DeRoy said Thursday that bird samples are being sent to the Smithsonian Institution for analysis.