Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Nose Smashed in by Bird in Brazil

A plane in Brazil was forced to make an emergency landing after a bird smashed into its nose ... and, from the size of the damage, many might wonder if they're breeding pterodactyls in the country.

Photos of the Airbus A321 have been released ... with a massive hole marring the front of the aircraft. Alongside the dent is a huge hole exposing the interior of the aircraft -- all caused by one bird, according to officials.

According to reports ... the LATAM Airlines plane hit a bird shortly after taking off from Brazil's Galeao Airport in Rio de Janeiro, heading for São Paulo Thursday morning -- and, it was forced to immediately turn and land back at Galeao.

Airport officials say all of the passengers on the 200-seat jet were uninjured during the scary incident ... and, they were all put on new flights bound for their respective locations.

While this incident didn't take place in the U.S., it's just another example of recent issues many have had in the air. Just this week, a Delta flight from Minneapolis experienced a scary crash landing in Toronto.

The plane flipped upside down on the runway ... smoke billowing from the fuselage while the outside of the plane was left burned in the chaos. Twenty-one people were injured in the crash.

Delta offered $30K to each passenger on the flight as compensation for the incident ... though a number of people think that's not enough for the ordeal they went through.

And, of course, the American Airlines crash at the end of last month -- when a helicopter ran into the side of a jet and left 67 people dead.