LIVERPOOL, England – A passenger plane declared an emergency when it was struck by a bird shortly after taking off from Liverpool.

Due to fly to Bucharest, the aircraft was forced to circle around the Irish Sea for over an hour before landing again more than two hours later.

Lowcost Romanian carrier Blue Air was operating the flight and said the plane was burning off fuel ahead of its emergency landing at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The firm said it was standard procedure in cases such as this and the passengers were in no danger.

This is not the first time a bird has caused havoc with aviation.

In 2009, they caused the emergency landing of a US Airways plane in the Hudson River in New York where Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III managed to dropped the plane safety after the engine was hit by a flock of geese.