Plane Engine Ingests Birds After Leaving Sarasota Bradenton International Airport

SARASOTA, FL — Shortly after taking off from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport Thursday morning, a plane hit a flock of birds, forcing it to turn around.

After Allegiant Air Flight 2593 heading to Akron, Ohio took off at 6:22 a.m., its engine ingested birds, prompting its return to SRQ, according to ABC7. It landed safely back at the airport around 7 a.m.

The airport’s CEO and president, Rick Piccolo, said there was “no damage, but mechanics must go through a protocol.”

He told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that planes frequently hit birds — “a couple times a month” — but emergency landings or returning to the airports they left from isn’t usually required. Because the bird actually went through the engine in this incident, it was forced to turn around.

"It's standard review process for the plane to return when that happens," Piccolo said.