A regional commercial jet struck and killed two deer on the runway after arriving at Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport from the Twin Cities, denting the plane but leaving the 21 people aboard unhurt, a spokesman for the airline said Thursday.

The collision late Monday of the Delta CRJ-200 plane from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, operated by Pinnacle Airlines, damaged the landing gear door and a wing flap on the 50-seater, said airline spokesman Joe Williams.

The damage forced the airline to cancel Tuesday morning's scheduled flight back to the Twin Cities, Williams said.

None of the 18 passengers or three crew members was hurt, he said.

"We've had wolves, coyotes and fox, geese and sandhill cranes," said Brainerd airport manager Steve Sievek, but deer getting on the runway is a rarity. "That's the price you pay up here in the North Country."

Sievek said he doubts the passengers realized there was a collision at the time. "It was just thump, thump and they were gone," he said. "I guess the plane was going in excess of 100 miles per hour."

Sievek lamented losing the Tuesday morning flight, given that every seat had been sold. A bus was offered to customers as an alternative, but only about 12 chose that option, he said.

PAUL WALSH