Stunned passengers flying from Barnstable to Nantucket on Wednesday morning to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday were splattered with the bloody remains of a bird after a loon smashed through the aircraft’s windshield, the Barnstable airport manager said.

The Cape Air flight took off from Barnstable Municipal Airport at about 9 a.m. with two pilots and a handful of passengers on board, said airport manager Bud Breault.