Bird strike forces Spirit Airlines flight to return to Los Angeles after plane circled city

A Spirit Airlines flight forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport because of a bird strike is back on its way to Florida.

Flight 310 originally took off late Wednesday. After the bird strike, it circled Los Angeles and returned to the airport.

Spirit spokesman Paul Berry tells City News Service that the flight may not have been able to immediately land after the strike because the pilot did not declare an emergency and was therefore placed in a holding pattern.

Berry also said landing with full fuel tanks may have been considered too difficult.

The airline's online flight tracker says Flight 310 left Los Angeles for the second time at 1:51 a.m. Thursday. It's due in Fort Lauderdale at 9:36 a.m. local time.