A flight to Atlanta had to turn back on Saturday after the pilot spotted a tiny stowaway had sneaked on board.
Delta Flight 1943 from Detroit was taxiing at Metro Airport when the copilot announced that a small bird, described as either a hummingbird or sparrow, had been spotted in the cockpit.
Takeoff was delayed as airline staff spent an hour searching for the bird. But the feathered passenger was nowhere to be found and eventually the pilots decided it must have escaped through a hatch on the underside of the aircraft.
Passengers say the pilot even joked at the time that if he heard ‘tweeting’, they’d have to turn to plane around.
A flight to Atlanta had to turn back on Saturday after the pilot spotted a tiny stowaway had sneaked on board. Pictured, the copilot makes the announcement that the bird has been found
Delta Flight 1943 from Detroit was taxiing at Metro Airport when the copilot announced that a small bird, described as either a hummingbird or sparrow, had been spotted in the cockpit
The delayed flight took off but a short time later, there was another announcement; the bird was back.
‘I have an update that the bird is back and it’s going a little nuts in here in the cockpit and we do not feel safe continuing on this flight, so we’re going to go back to Detroit,’ the captain said, passenger Brian Buonassissi told ClickonDetroit.
Fellow passenger Kevin Adkisson said the mood aboard remained ‘light and humorous’ – except for ‘the terrified passenger who didn’t speak English and couldn’t figure out what was happening.’
Officials say that the plane returned to Detroit and landed without incident.
Takeoff was delayed as airline staff spent an hour searching for the bird. But the feathered passenger was nowhere to be found (stock image)
The delayed flight took off but a short time later, there was another announcement; the bird was back (stock image)
This time, staff were able to find and free the bird.
Unfortunately, it is believe that no pictures of the bird in the cockpit exist, as the captain said: ‘If I could have taken a selfie with the bird, I could have flown this plane to Atlanta with the bird’, according to Adkisson.
Buonassissi, an international DJ who was flying in for a show, said the delay was frustrating but the safety of everyone had to come first.
‘I have had some crazy stories, but that one takes the cake for sure,’ Buonassissi said.
Several passengers were forced to rebook their flights because the delay caused them to miss their connecting flights.