Bird crashes through plane's windshield

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HYANNIS, Mass., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A loon crashed through the windshield of a small plane, bloodying the passengers and forcing the craft to return to an airport in Massachusetts, officials said.

The red-throated loon came through the co-pilot's side of the front windshield of the Cessna 402C Wednesday above the coastline from Hyannis to Nantucket, Mass., Barnstable Municipal Airport manager Roland Breault told the Cape Cod (Mass.) Times.

The co-pilot was scratched by flying glass, but the pilot and two passengers were not injured.

"They all got a little bit bloody from the bird splatter," Breault said.

The pilot turned the plane around and returned to Barnstable Municipal Airport, from where it originated. The passengers changed their clothes and were put on another flight to Nantucket, the Times reported.

"This is the worst one I've seen since I've been here," Breault said about the accident. "That's why I thought they did a great job getting that plane back on the ground."