Plane Returns to Seattle After Bird Collision

An Alaska Airlines plane bound for Bozeman, Montana, safely returned to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after a bird collision damaged the plane.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper says there were no injuries to the 65 passengers or four crew members. Flight 2460 took off around 1:45 p.m. PDT Friday.

After the collision, the pilot turned the plane around and landed in Seattle without incident around 2:08 p.m. PDT. The bird was still attached to the nose of the aircraft.

Cooper says bird collisions rarely cause damage to aircraft.

Alaska Airlines spokesman Paul McElroy says the bird went through the skin of the nose of the Bombardier Q400 operated by airline subsidiary Horizon Air.