Bird strike forces flight to Toronto to return to Calgary

A flight from Calgary to Toronto was forced to return to Calgary Sunday after it hit a bird during takeoff.

WestJet flight 664 took off from the Calgary airport around 11:30 a.m. when a bird hit the windshield, making visibility difficult, a WestJet spokesperson said.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was diverted back to Calgary for a maintenance inspection, but had to circle for about 90 minutes to burn fuel as to not have an overweight landing.

The passengers have been rebooked on the same flight departingmid-afternoon Sunday, the airline said.

WestJet said bird strikes are a fairly common occurrence.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, around 98,000 bird strikes were reported between 2008-2015 and 91 per cent happened during take off or landing.