He said air traffic control contacted the pilot after noticing an unusual manoeuvre minutes after take-off and the pilot said his plane had hit a vulture.
At either end of this 1, 280-metre (4, 200-foot) long suspension bridge, both the police and the National Guard are stationed like anchors watching the traffic and keeping a keen eye out for anything unusual.
The National Center for Traffic Information described the snowfall as "remarkable" for the Paris region, where heavy snows are unusual, and warned motorists that the wintry conditions could "turn roads into real ice rinks".