Plane lands safely after bird strike

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- A Northwest Airlines flight en route to Las Vegas was forced to return to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport after hitting a flock of pigeons, officials said.

Flight 195 collided with an estimated 15 pigeons shortly after takeoff Saturday, shaking the plane and leaving bird blood and feathers on a wing and around the engine, witnesses told KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, in a story Sunday.

The pilot suspected engine damage and made the decision to return to the airport, an airline spokeswoman told the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press.

The plane landed safely and no one was hurt. Later in the day, the passengers were put on other planes en route for Las Vegas, the spokeswoman said.