Flight 1760, a Boeing 737-800 bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, lifted off at 8:11 a.m. on Aug. 10 local time and was back on the ground 27 minutes later, according to FlightAware tracking data reported by People.
None of the 172 passengers and nine crew members was injured.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday. We've got a engine problem here," the pilot told controllers in audio captured by LiveATC.net and reported by CNN.
A second pilot who watched the departure radioed that the aircraft appeared to have taken birds into at least its left engine.
"In the middle of the runway, everybody heard a big bang," passenger John Richter told CBS News.
