Alligator on the runway and five other bizarre reasons for plane delays

A large alligator halted the Spirit Airlines flight in its tracks. Photo / Getty

At Orlando International airport last Monday, a flight from Spirit Airlines had a close run-in with an alligator.

The flight from Washington was taxiing in when was halted on the runway when the alligator crossed its path, reported WPTV. There was nothing the pilots could do but wait for the giant lumbering lizard to clear the way.

Only in Florida... a gator held up our Spirit Airlines plane crossing the runway at MCO on the way home from DC. 🐊 follow @Horizonless_Nomad (Horizonless Nomad) on Instagram for more travel adventures ✈️

Posted by Anthony Velardi on Monday, 11 June 2018

Passenger Anthony Velardi who had just arrived on the plane, caught some footage of the rogue reptile from his plane seat.

This is a rare occurrence, even at the swampy Orlando Airport where 280 acres of its land are covered in water.

Mother Nature has a habit of getting in the way, especially when you are in a rush to go somewhere.

Here are five other equally bizarre reasons for plane delays:

Swarming bees

Last September a swarm of thousands of

bees attacked Citilink flight QG 885

in Kualanmu, Indonesia.

Passengers were trapped on the plane, as the swarm took a dislike to the plane's right wing.

The swarm held up air traffic for 90 minutes, while the airport searched for a solution.
Eventually the bees were removed by a fire hose.

Swarm: Flight QG 885 was attacked by bees upon landing in Medan's Kualanmu airport. Photo/ Budi Ihsan, Facebook

UP: Jonathan Trappe re-enacts the infamous stunt of "Lawnchair Larry". Photo / Paul Cyr, getty

Pixar enthusiasts

In 1982 Larry Walters attached helium balloons to a deck chair – in an infamous stunt that may have been the inspiration for the Disney movie

Up

. This hair-brained scheme took "Lawnchair Larry" up to an altitude of 15,000ft before floating into the controlled airspace of Los Angeles International Airport.

The stunt grounded planes and stopped planes from reaching the approach corridor.

When he was arrested by the police it was discovered he had embarked on the stunt armed only with a pelet gun, CB radio and a small picnic up. He eventually paid a reduced fine of $1,500.

Samuel L. Jackson promotes his cult movie 'Snakes on a Plane'. Photo / Jason Merritt, Getty

Snakes on this plane

Another delay reminiscent of a Hollywood movie happened in 2009, when four snakes when missing on a Qantas flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne.

Much like the premise of the2006 Samuel L Jackson B-movie Snakes on a Plane, this flight had an unusual cargo escaped captivity.

Twelve baby Stimson's pythons were being were being transported in a package aboard the plane which had large air holes. The tiny 15cm serpents disappeared through their transport packaging, into the aircraft.

They might have been small then but the snakes but can grow to over a metre long. Yikes.

It's possible their bid for freedom was successful as the snakes were never found. Samuel L Jackson was also nowhere to be seen.

Escaped puppies

In 2011 a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy escaped the luggage handlers in New York's La Guadia Airport and ran circles around ground staff. It delayed flights for 20minutes as it evaded capture.

In the same year a whippet went on the loose on Manchester airport.

The racing dog gave the airport staff a run for their money, diverting and delaying 12 flights.

"It took some time to catch it. The airfield is obviously quite a big area," duty manager Garry Brown told the Manchester Evening News.

"Basically, if there is any lost animal on the runway, we have to stop all flights straight away."

You've otter be joking

Perhaps the most unusual animal escapees on a plane was in 2009, when a pair of otters ran amok on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Ohio.

Speaking with NBC, passengers thought the announcement must have been a joke, but after an hour's delay it was no longer a laughing matter.

They only believed when passengers caught a glimpse of the otters scurrying across the tarmac.