A Swiss International Airlines Airbus A330-300 flight was forced to return to Zurich after a bird strike damaged the right engine. The plane was en route to Chicago, flight no. LX-6, when the bird strike occurred shortly after takeoff. The crew stopped the climb and burned off fuel before landing safely in Zurich.
A passenger on the plane said that the aircraft leveled off shortly after takeoff, and about 30 minutes later an announcement was made that the right engine had been struck by a bird. Both engines were still running, but the plane returned to Zurich as a precaution. A replacement plane was sent to Chicago, and the passengers arrived with a delay of about 5 hours. The damaged plane was repaired and returned to service about 26 hours after landing back in Zurich.
Some additional details:
- The bird strike occurred at an altitude of about 9,000 feet.
- The plane was carrying 210 passengers and 10 crew members.
- The bird strike caused damage to the engine's fan blades.
- The plane landed safely in Zurich about 2 hours after the bird strike.
- The replacement plane arrived in Chicago about 5 hours after the original plane was forced to return to Zurich.
- The damaged plane was repaired and returned to service about 26 hours after landing back in Zurich.