Ryanair mid-flight emergency forces return to Manchester Airport

A RYANAIR flight was forced to return to Manchester Airport after a mid-air emergency.

EMERGENCY: A bird reportedly hit the plane shortly after takeoff

Flight FR3445 was headed to Palma de Mallorca in Spain tonight but began circling shortly after takeoff.

It is understood a bird hit the plane and it is now reportedly circling around Bury.

The Boeing 737-800 had been due to arrive in Palma at around 8.50pm.

And again #FR3445 pic.twitter.com/g6cH7dFIvt

— Jo ت (@JoJo_P_87) April 1, 2016

Ryanair flight to Mallorca forced to return

The plane safely returned to Manchester around 50 minutes after the emergency was declared. 

Mid-air emergencies are declared when a Squawk 7700 is filed by the pilot. This can be anything from an engine failure, smoke, fire or passenger illness.

Earlier this month, a Ryanair flight from Glasgow to Dublin caused panic after it was forced to send distress signals on St Patrick's Day.

And an EasyJet flight was forced back to Geneva airport after a spanner got jammed in the wing. 

A plane was left caked in blood in March after a bird walloped the 70 passenger jet at Heathrow Airport.