A321 flight crew reported returning to departure airport after encountering what appeared to be part...

Attributes
ACN	1495568
Time
Date	201711
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.TRACON
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A321
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Inflight Event / Encounter Object

Narrative:

Passing approximately 8000 feet we hit some balloons that were tied together. ATC was informed. All aircraft and engine parameters were normal; but we elected to return to [departure airport] for an inspection. Dispatch was notified by ACARS; and operations by voice. A normal landing was conducted; below max landing weight. A follow up call to dispatch was made; along with a maintenance write up.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A321 flight crew reported returning to departure airport after encountering what appeared to be party balloons climbing through 8;000 ft. Remains of multiple balloons were found in the right engine.

Narrative: Passing approximately 8000 feet we hit some balloons that were tied together. ATC was informed. All aircraft and engine parameters were normal; but we elected to return to [departure airport] for an inspection. Dispatch was notified by ACARS; and Operations by voice. A normal landing was conducted; below max landing weight. A follow up call to Dispatch was made; along with a maintenance write up.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.