A flock of pigeons forced a Nanjing-bound flight to return to its departure point in Urumqi, and all passengers were taken to Nanjing on another plane, fjsen.com reported on Friday.

The crew of the Boeing 757 flight demanded the backtrack flight when they met the pigeon flock right after it took off from the capital city airport of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the report said.

Technical workers found the radar cover and right wind block severely damaged in the incident.

The report said 10 dead pigeons were left on the runway, which makes this the year’s most serious bird incident at the Urumqi airport.

The report also said an average of eight bird strikes occur at Urumqi airport every year, including pigeons. Pigeon accidents make up 80 percent of those cases.

There are about 400 pigeon breeders near the airport. Although the airport deploys a 24-hour watch during spring and autumn and warns people in nearby neighborhoods, they proved ineffective, the report said.