A twin-engine cargo plane landed safely near Show Low after striking one or more birds on Wednesday, federal officials said, the second bird strike to force a passenger plane to land this week.
The impact shattered the plane's wind screen, causing minor facial injuries and a bruised shoulder to the pilot and splattering bird blood across the inside of the aircraft, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot, who was the only person on board the Ameriflight Beechcraft C99, was taken to a local hospital where he received eight stitches in his face, said John Hazlet, director of operations and vice president of safety and standards at Ameriflight.
The plane was carrying small-package cargo and would have continued on from Show Low, Hazlet said. Ameriflight is mainly a cargo service.
"The bird made a hole the size of a football in the windshield," he said. "There are blood and guts inside the plane."
The FAA is investigating the incident, which happened just two days after a Delta Air Lines passenger jet headed for Salt Lake City from Phoenix struck a flock of birds and was forced to return to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
In that case, the bird strike caused damage to the plane's windshield and led to problems with the pressurization in the plane's cabin, leading the pilot to declare an emergency landing, Gregor said.
Examination revealed an 18-inch tear near one of the plane's windshields, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.
None of the nearly 70 people on the plane were injured, according to the report.
While the planes didn't strike the birds in the same area, they were both flying at an altitude of about 11,000 feet, Gregor said.
Arizona is in the Pacific flyway, one of four U.S. paths birds usually take in migration, for birds like ducks and geese, said Doug Burt, spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. However, Burt said it is too early in the season for migration.
"We don't usually see much migration until much later in the year as the northern states start to freeze up," he said. "I've been watching the weather patterns and it has been warm even up in Wyoming and Idaho."
