A321 Returns to Seattle after bird strike on the nose cone
 

American Airlines Aircraft Returns to Seattle Airport After Damaging Bird Strike - ABC News
"A Dallas-bound American Airlines aircraft was struck by a bird Wednesday afternoon after taking off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and at the pilot's discretion, the Airbus 321 returned to the airport about 30 minutes after taking off.

In a statement, American Airlines said, "American Airlines 2310, from Seattle-Tacoma (SeaTac) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), returned to SeaTac due to a bird strike, which struck the nose of the aircraft. The Airbus A321, with 150 passengers and six crew, landed safely and taxied to the gate.""
http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/US/ab...27_4x3_992.jpg

How did they know?

Edited to add that there appears to have been birds (plural).

Well I guess they saw the bird or birds and heard the thump when it hit...

There also appears to be a white mark on the windscreen; which may be also damaged.

Perhaps the pilots didn't want to look through a blood covered windscreen all the way to DFW...

How did they know? Is that a serious question?


BAM! THUD! are some of the typical clues.

add Bam-Thud-SPRAY

Perhaps the giant bang sounding like a cannon shot gave them a hint!

Add some vibration as they increased speed and decision to return gets even easier .

There are a few videos about bird hits on commercial jetliners flight decks on you tube. Even a tiny bird makes a decent noise.

That dent you see also creates some noise in flight.