No traces of bird strikes found on turned back China Express aircraft: Official

(ECNS) -- A passenger plane landed back in Hangzhou Xiaoshan International airport soon after it took off on Tuesday afternoon in East China's Hangzhou. Passenger footage capturing the sudden event immediately went viral on Chinese social media.

Speculations spread on the internet, supposing that the incident was due to a broken windshield caused by bird strikes, which reminded netizens of The Captain, a popular Chinese movie recording how a pilot and his flight crew ensure the safety of passengers when the airplane windshield shatters at 30,000 feet in the air.

The aircraft malfunctioned during the take-off stage and the crews decided to return to the ground considering passenger safety, said Ms. Chen, China Express senior public affairs manager on Tuesday evening.

No injuries or deaths occurred, and the specific cause of the failure is under investigation, Chen added.

Local authorities in civil aviation told Red Star News on Wednesday that no traces of bird strikes were found, and the flight returned in a normal state after fuel consumption.

Flight G54064 was operated by China Express Airlines and scheduled to depart from Hangzhou at around noon on Tuesday and land at 2:40 p.m. at Baotou Donghe Airport in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.