Um Embraer E175 from regional operator Horizon Air almost had its takeoff postponed, why? A pelican decided to take a rest on the airport taxiway, preventing the aircraft from ing on April 22.
With the unusual scene, flight AS2179 between San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Paine Field (PAE) was delayed by 15 minutes. To get around the situation, the Embraer commander who was not believing the scene had to ask for from the command tower, which ended up sending a vehicle to disperse the large water bird.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this, but we can't taxi because of a pelican sitting here on the taxiway. He is not moving".
See the scene below:
More common than you might think, airport operations receive numerous operational interferences due to land animals and birds around the world.
Speaking of birds, most of the time, these animals end up crashing into an airplane at the time of takeoff and landing, which is fatal for the animal and depending on the shock, can cause great damage to the fuselage of an airplane.
As a result, most airports have a fauna team with professionals specialized in animal life (biologists) to help not only capture these animals in the operational area, but also help create mechanisms to remove and prevent operations from being interrupted.
