A plane carrying 44 passengers declared an emergency at Charlotte Douglas Airport after hitting a deer on take-off.
There were no injuries to passengers or crew of the American Eagle flight operated by PSA Airlines, but the CRJ-700 jet suffered damage.
Once American Airlines flight 5320 was airborne it made a pass back over the airport to allow for a visual inspection by air traffic control.
It was then that a fuel leak was found.
The plane immediately returned to the airport while other flight operations were put on hold.
All passengers evacuated safely as the plane was doused in foam to prevent the fuel leak from igniting.
The airline said everyone was taken back to the terminal to await a new aircraft for the flight to Gulfport, Mississippi.
