An alligator stopped an airplane on a runway as it was taxiing to the arrival gate at an Orlando airport.
A pilot flying a Spirit Airlines flight from Baltimore to Orlando International Airport early Monday morning told passengers just moments after landing that there was a delay in getting to the gate.
‘Believe it or not, we have to wait for an alligator that’s in the middle of the runway,’ the pilot said.
An alligator stopped an airplane on a runway as it was taxiing to the arrival gate at an Orlando airport
A pilot flying a Spirit Airlines flight from Baltimore to Orlando International Airport early Monday morning told passengers just moments after landing that there was a delay in getting to the gate
‘Believe it or not, we have to wait for an alligator that’s in the middle of the runway,’ the pilot said
Anthony Velardi, one of the passengers on board, took his cell phone and began recording the scene.
He then shared video showing the gator crossing the runway.
‘Only in Florida. A gator held up our plane crossing the runway at MCO on the way home from (the DC area),’ Velardi posted.
The exact size of the gator wasn’t known.
The body of a woman whose arm was found inside an alligator (seen above in a police handout photo) which is believed to have dragged her to her death was found late Friday evening by search and rescue teams in Davie, Florida
Airport officials deployed a truck in an attempt to get the gator to scurry off into a nearby pond.
After the gator was out of the way, the airplane continued on to its arrival gate, according to ClickOrlando.com.
It is not uncommon for alligators to cross airport runways and other roads near bodies of water in Florida.
Last year, the pilot of a small airplane hit and killed an 11-foot alligator as it was crossing the runway during landing at Orlando Executive Airport.
Last week, a woman was killed after being attacked by an alligator as she was walking her dogs near a pond in Davie, a city just outside of Fort Lauderdale.
The body of Shizuka Matsuki, 47, was found by search and rescue authorities over the weekend after her arm was found inside the alligator which attacked her.
Alligators are making their presence felt in May and June, when mating season begins.
It is during this time that trappers get the most calls to catch the magnificent creatures.
When breeding season starts, the males ‘bellow’ to females and other males in the area.
In the US, alligators are mainly concentrated in the southeast and along the Gulf Coast.
Residents of Florida and Texas have been frightened in recent weeks to see large male alligators in their neighborhoods as the massive reptiles seek female companions for mating season.