Plane Stranded for Hours on Runway by Swarm of Bees

plane delayed by bees

(Image courtesy of Twitter)

A US Airways flight at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, today was delayed on the runway for hours by a swarm of bees. According to WCNC, passengers onboard US Airways Flight 2690 were saying that the aircraft had been stranded on the tarmac for more than two hours. The flight was supposed to depart at 1:15 p.m.

The flight, bound for Indianapolis, was delayed, according to WSOC, when the vehicle responsible for backing up the plane was swarmed with bees. The crew soon announced to the passengers that they could not take off because the bees were now attacking the nose of the plane.

The passengers were kept inside the plane because at least one of them is allergic to bees. A beekeeper was called to the scene. Paramedics were on stand-by.

At 3:56 p.m., a passenger inside the plan tweeted that they were finally taking off and heading to their destination.

This isn’t the only example of nature interfering with human aeronautic travel. In 2009, a bird strike hit US Airways Flight 1549 while departing from LaGuardia Airport in New York. The event occurred during the plane’s ascent, resulting in a loss in engine power. The flight crew, deciding that the aircraft would not make it to an airport, ditched the plane in the Hudson River. The incident became known as “Miracle on the Hudson.”