Lufthansa Flight Turns Around After Encountering Bird Strike

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt (FRA) to Philadelphia (PHL) was forced to turn around after hitting a bird mid-flight on Thursday.Two and a half hours into Lufthansa Flight 426, the A340-300 aircraft (registration D-AIGV) struck a bird and began encountering vibrations in two of its motors. The plane’s flight path shows the aircraft was just past Ireland when the pilots turned back for FRA.A Lufthansa spokesperson said the plane landed safely back at FRA at 4:57pm local time. “There were 245 passengers and 10 crew members on board,” the spokesperson told TPG. “The passengers have been individually rebooked and also accommodated in a Frankfurt hotel.“The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that at US airports, about 11,000 bird strikes occur per year.