A plane trip from Minneapolis to Madison, Wisconsin, faced delays on Saturday when two birds attempted to sneak onto the aircraft.
The seemingly feral pigeons were aboard Delta Air Lines Flight 2348, which also carried 119 passengers and five crew members.
It was strange,” passenger Tom Caw told CNN. “As soon as I boarded the aircraft, I overheard a passenger telling a flight attendant that she believes there might be a pigeon onboard. At first, I glanced at her and wondered what she could possibly mean.
Certainly, once Caw had fastened his seatbelt, he heard a disturbance a short distance up from his seating position.
The baggage handlers were summoned onto the aircraft to remove the bird, as mentioned by Caw. The pilot also used the intercom to inform all passengers about a “wildlife issue” on board.
Once the aircraft had departed from the gate and was preparing for takeoff, an additional bird appeared. “It was pacing down the aisle,” Caw mentioned, prior to someone attempting to catch it, causing the bird to soar across the cabin.
The footage captured by Caw depicts the bird in flight as a passenger leaps up attempting to seize the creature using a jacket, with a woman screaming in the background. Following this unsuccessful effort, the bird wound up at the rear of the aircraft.
According to an audio recording by the website, the pilot requested clearance from air traffic control to go back to the gate.
LiveATC.net
You folks needing help, or everything under control?” the air traffic controller queried. “There’s a pigeon on board the aircraft, and it just won’t leave? This is something new for me. Wow… Oh dear, that’s absolutely crazy.
Once the aircraft went back to the terminal, an additional baggage handler was called onto the plane and successfully removed the bird, according to Caw.
Delta told CNN, “We appreciate the diligent efforts of both our staff and passengers who helped in safely removing two birds from the plane before takeoff. We regret any inconvenience this caused to our travelers due to the delay.”
The plane landed in Madison approximately one hour after the planned time.
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CNN’s Kara Devlin provided input for this report.
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