United Airlines plane forced to land after colliding with bird; Dulles runway closed briefly

Airliner forced to land after colliding with bird

WASHINGTON — A collision with a large bird forced a United Airlines plane to return to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday.

FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said United Flight 915 sucked a large bird into the airliner’s right engine shortly after takeoff around 4:30 p.m. EST.

She said the pilot quickly returned the plane to the airport and it landed safely.

Baker said there were no injuries, but one runway was briefly closed so that it could be cleared of bird remains.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the plane was a Boeing 757-200 bound for San Francisco. She said the airline is still investigating the cause of the incident.