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2 Aeroflot Jets Collide With Birds

Two Aeroflot jets collided with birds in the past 24 hours, but no one was injured.

The pilots of an Airbus A-330 radioed air traffic controllers shortly after taking off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on a flight to London to say that they had struck a large bird, Interfax reported Thursday.

"Nonetheless, the crew decided to continue the flight," an official in Moscow's air traffic control was quoted as saying.

The plane departed Moscow at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday. No serious damage was discovered to the aircraft after it safely landed in Heathrow.

The report did not say how many people were aboard the jet, which typically can carry 250-300 passengers.

The second bird strike occurred as an Airbus A-321 flight from Moscow was preparing to land at the Kaliningrad airport at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. The bird hit the cockpit's windshield, Moscow's air traffic control said, without elaborating on whether the windshield was damaged.

Interfax did not say how many people were on the flight.

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