Bird strikes force 2 emergency landings in U.S.

There was trouble in the air for two planes on Wednesday, and this time, it had nothing to do with air traffic controllers. CBS News correspondent Whit Johnson reports it was birds at the root of the problem.

In all, more than 400 passengers were affected when two planes hundreds of miles apart were forced to make emergency landings after striking birds early in their flights. The emergency landings are rare, but it turns out, bird strikes are not.

Just minutes after take off Wednesday afternoon, Continental Airlines flight 697 bound for Las Vegas was forced to return to Houston, averting potential disaster after the plane struck a bird.

Just a few hours later, it happened again. This time in Orlando, Florida, where a Thomson Airways 767 headed for London -- and carrying 269 people -- had to return after it too struck a bird. Passengers on that flight immediately sensed there was a problem.

"As it started to go up, there was a loud bang," recalled one passenger. "There was a horrible fuel smell, we knew something was wrong."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been more than 87,000 reports of bird strikes in the U.S. since 1990. Between the years 2006 and 2010, there were an average of 26 bird strikes every day.

So while plane-bird incursions are common, emergencies as a result are rare.

CBS News aviation consultant Mark Rosenker says when a bird strike does significant damage to a jet's engine, lights will come on in the cockpit, the pilot will recognize that he's losing some power, and "out of abundance of caution, he will turn around and bring the aircraft in for a safe landing."

Perhaps the most infamous incident of plane versus bird occurred in January, 2009, when a flock of Canadian geese was sucked into both engines of U.S. Airways flight 1549, knocking them out and forcing an emergency landing.

Sullenberger recalls moment engines died
Video: Sullenberger's moment
Sullenberger's passengers moving on

Pilot Chesley Sullenberger made his improbable safe touch-down in New York's Hudson River. All 150 passengers survived, earning "Sully" a hero's status. Fortunately, on Wednesday, the circumstances weren't as dire, as both planes landed safely without any injuries.

Bird strike reporting is down to the discretion of airlines, so it's possible that it happens even more frequently than we know.