A bird struck a Southwest Airlines 737 landing at Sacramento International Airport Thursday night, becoming lodged in the plane's right wing flap.
An airport source said the cockpit crew was unaware of the bird strike until after the plane was safely on the ground and the aircraft underwent a routine post-flight inspection.
Southwest Airlines flight 2983 from Burbank arrived at 7:19 p.m.
The source said supervisors were examining the wing to see if it was safe to keep the aircraft in service.
The blood pattern in this photograph of the bird strike obtained by News10 suggested the bird hit the right wing flap when the flaps were deployed during the final approach to the airport, then was pinched in the hinge when the pilot retracted the flaps after touchdown.
On Wednesday, a departing Southwest Airlines flight was forced to return to Sacramento International Airport following a bird strike.
Sacramento International Airport lies within the Pacific Flyway and experiences more bird strikes than any other airport on the West Coast.
Source: George Warren, News10/KXTV
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