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TAMPA (Bay News 9) -- A bird may not be to blame for a dent in the nose of a Northwest Airlines jet.
The nose on the plane caved in on a flight Sunday from Detroit to Tampa. It did not affect the plane's scheduled landing.
At first, a Tampa International Airport spokesperson said a bird was to blame. The FAA said that can't be the case because the plane was flying at 18,000 feet when the crew heard a loud bang, which is too high for birds.
The nose cone has been shipped to Minnesota for testing.
The airline called it a minor maintenance issue and said it was a rare occurrence.
Airline officials also said they would investigate, but didn't want to speculate on the cause before the investigation was complete.
The two most popular causes of nose-cone incidents include run-ins with birds and lighting strikes.
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