© Barry Williams/Getty Images North America/Getty ImagesATLANTA - APRIL 30: A Boeing 757 with a new Delta Airlines logo sits on the tarmac following the company's emergence from bankruptcy at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport April 30,2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. The 757 sports new branding that will appear on more than 900 planes, at airports and on advertising. (Photo by Barry Williams/Getty Images) 757
A Delta flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday night "after coming in contact with birds during takeoff," Delta Air Lines said.
Delta Flight 2281, which was headed to Washington, DC, returned to the Atlanta airport at 10:36 p.m., 47 minutes after it took off, according to information from flight data tracking platform FlightAware.
The flight turned around after its crew reported a bird strike had cracked a windshield on the Airbus A320 aircraft.
In a statement to CNN, Delta Airlines said maintenance personnel were evaluating the aircraft as the airline worked "to reaccommodate customers on an alternate aircraft to Washington D.C."
Flight 2281 was originally scheduled to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, but due to airport restrictions, was rescheduled to land at Washington Dulles International Airport.
No passengers or crew were injured during the incident, a spokesperson for Delta told CNN.
There are around 15,000 bird strikes reported every year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. About 5% of them result in damage to the aircraft.
In 2009, pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in New York after its engines were knocked out by birds shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport.