Flight turned back after bird strike

An Air New Zealand flight was forced to turn around after striking a bird this morning. Photo / file

An Air New Zealand flight was forced to turn around after striking a bird this morning.

NZ5264, an ATR aircraft, departed Nelson Airport at 7.50am.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said it returned to Nelson after striking a bird.

It was inspected by engineers and departed again about 9.05am.

The turbo-prop ATR aircraft has 68 seats.