Bird enters cockpit, forcing airplane’s return to gate

Credit: Joe Raedle

Credit: Joe Raedle

A bird flew into an airplane bound for Atlanta, forcing it to return to the gate in Detroit Saturday.

Delta Flight 1943 was taxiing to the runway when it circled back to the gate at Detroit Metro Airport after a small bird flew into the cockpit, according to WDIV.

The bird boarded the plane, then got into the cockpit shortly after takeoff. It was so small it could not be found, even after searching for an hour, according to WDIV.

So the pilot decided to take off, and about an hour into the flight, it appeared again.

"Literally an hour into the flight, he goes, 'I have an update that the bird is back and it's going a little nuts in here in the cockpit and we do not feel safe continuing on this flight, so we're going to go back to Detroit,'" passenger Brian Buonassissi told WDIV.

This time, the bird was removed and safely set free. The pilot again resumed the flight to Atlanta.

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