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Scott Babcock/Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
A sunbathing seal blocks the runway at remote Alaskan airport.
On Monday, a sightseeing hedgehog inadvertently caused a small delay to a recently landed Air New Zealand plane in Dunedin.
The spiky mammal had decided to take a shortcut across the runway, stopping Flight NZ675 briefly in its tracks.
The captain reportedly told passengers: “I’m sorry I’m going to have to make an announcement that I’ve never made before, there is a hedgehog on the runway.”
While the hedgehog was escorted away by firefighters (yes, really), animal encroachments onto runways aren’t new. Here are five times that animals decided to frustrate pilots and airport authorities. For this list, we are not going to include birds which are frequently the foes of pilots.
There is a leopard on the runway
We have hedgehogs, Nepal has leopards; a great example of our more restrained wildlife here in Aotearoa.
Nepal’s international airport had to be closed for 30 minutes back in 2017 after a prowling leopard was spotted near the runway.
All domestic and international flights were delayed at Tribhuwan International Airport while authorities carried out a search. The airport in the capital Kathmandu isn’t far from forests, and in the past has had to deal with the likes of stray cattle and dogs disrupting flights.
There is a seal on the runway
Authorities at Utqiagvik Airport in Alaska, US had a rather weighty problem to deal with in 2017 – a 200kg issue to be exact.
A sunbathing seal had decided that the runway was the perfect place to catch some rays, temporarily halting services at the remote airport.
“Aircraft operators should continue to be aware of low sealings at our North Slope facilities,” quipped the local transport authorities.
123RF
Maybe the turtle wanted a close up look at the livery of the All Nippon Airways A380?
There is a turtle on the runway
A rather slow moving obstacle was spotted at Japan’s Narita Airport last year, after a turtle decided to take a tour of the facilities.
Perhaps knowing that the A380 All Nippon Airways aircraft which sports a sea turtle livery was there, the reptile sauntered onto the runway for a closer look, delaying five aircraft, including the aforementioned Airbus.
It’s thought the turtle may have escaped from the airport’s retention pond.
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An Eastern Grey kangaroo evaded capture for two months (file photo).
There is a kangaroo on the runway
Where else but ‘Straya?
This tale saw a rogue roo evading authorities at Queensland’s Bundaberg airport for two months back in 2013.
The maverick marsupial had been “menacing” landing aircraft according to local media, and had avoided all the traps set out for him.
The story doesn’t end well. The local council ended up shooting and killing him.
There is a bear on the runway
Another wildlife tale which didn’t end well occurred in 2020 when Alaska Airlines Flight 66 was coming into land at Yakutat Airport.
Just before landing at the remote Alaskan airport, pilots spotted two bears crossing the runway. While the nose gear missed the pair, “the captain felt an impact on the left side after the bears passed under the plane,” a statement from Alaska Airlines at the time read.
The brown bear sow was sadly killed, but its cub, thought to be roughly two years old, was uninjured.
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