Category: AVIATION

An investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport was ordered by the Iraqi prime minister. Passengers became disgruntled over the delay. Iraqi Airways said in a statement that it was not to blame for the bear’s escape and that the aircraft’s crew had worked with authorities in the United Arab Emirates to remove the bear. The UAE had reportedly dispatched specialists to sedate the animal and remove it from the plane. A video made by the plane’s captain apologizes for the incident and delay because of the bear’s escape from its crate in the cargo hold.

A suspicious package resulted in the evacuation of a large part of the Fort Lauderdale Airport Sunday, August 6. Reports said the Terminal 1 check-in area was evacuated for a little over an hour while an investigation into a suspicious package was conducted. The airport’s social media account said there was an “ongoing security-related law enforcement investigation into a security-related incident,” and recommended travelers use a lower-level roadway at that time. The Broward Sheriff’s Office told a local news station that an “unattended bag caused the evacuation so the bomb squad could check out the luggage.” The issue was resolved and the airport returned to normal operations.

An American Airlines ramp worker stripped naked and did push-ups in baggage claim at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). In a video posted to Reddit, the man is shown walking through the baggage area while tossing each item of clothing that he had been wearing. Airport police and another airport employee subdued and arrested the man. The incident lasted about four minutes.

A man identifying as a comedian with Jammer TV named Jamie DeGeorge uploaded a 45-second video to TikTok, showing his interaction with a Southwest Airlines captain prior to a recent flight. The man was walking down the jet bridge and passed the captain. Here’s how the interaction goes: Passenger: “Are you the pilot of this flight?” Captain: “Yeah, what’s up?” Passenger: “You haven’t been drinking or anything, have you?” Captain: “You know what, that’s the stupidest f*cking thing you could say.” Passenger: “I’m joking around.” Captain: “No, I’m not joking.” Passenger: “It’s a joke, sir.” Captain: “No, I’m not joking, I can kick you off right now.” Passenger: “I’m joking, oh my God. You ever heard of a joke? I’m a comedian.” Captain: “Come here. All right. You don’t do that. And the reason is because that gentleman right there, and anyone else who is around, now doubts what I do for a living. I don’t go into your work and say sh*t. …” Passenger: “I’m very sorry I offended you. I understand.” Bottom line – this is not a subject to be joked about.

Emergency trucks swarmed a Delta Air Lines jet on the airport Wednesday evening, August 2, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A tweet by the Atlanta airport said, “Atlanta fire and airport emergency operations responded to an incident involving an aircraft on arrival this afternoon. The aircraft landed safety and passengers self-evacuated.”

Several Delta Air Lines passengers on a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta were removed from the aircraft on stretchers. The passengers were said to have been overcome by high temperatures on board as the aircraft was taxiing out and waiting for takeoff. The wait extended to be hours long, some passengers on board the flight stated. When the aircraft arrived back at the gate, other passengers left the plane and the flight was canceled. A Fox news employee, Krista Garvin, tweeted that at least three people were removed from the plane by paramedics. “Oxygen tanks are being pulled out,” Garvin tweeted. “They said to press your call button if you need medical assistance. Babies are screaming and crying. They’re handing out sandwiches to the diabetics.” Delta confirmed the heat emergency aboard flight 555 and apologized. A statement by Delta said the company was investigating “the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin” at the Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport. Temperatures in Las Vegas reached 114 degrees on that day. There were 197 passengers aboard the aircraft, with two pilots and four flight attendants. At least two people, including a flight attendant, were transported to a hospital. Garvin tweeted that she saw three people being taken away on stretchers. A Fox Business news article said some passengers passed out and paramedics boarded the plane. After four hours, passengers were asked to disembark.

Flights at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport were stopped for a time on Monday July 3, during a drone attack. Vnukovo is one of three major airports in Moscow. Officials in the city said the drones belonged to Ukraine. According to the Defense Ministry in Moscow in a statement on Telegram, “Air defenses destroyed four drones and another was brought down using electronic countermeasures.” There were no deaths related to these attacks and countermeasures; however, a fire broke out in a maintenance building on site from the debris. Vnukovo Airport resumed work at 8 a.m. after having been shut down since around 5 a.m. Fourteen flights were diverted to other airports during that time, a post on Telegram from the mayor of Moscow, Sergey Sobyanin, said.

A woman was kicked off an American Airlines flight after a meltdown in which she is shown on video ranting and saying, “that motherfucker is not real.” The 38-year-old did not want to leave on her own but had to be removed by the staff, according to the police documents. Before heading toward the front of the plane, Gomas added in her address to passengers, “You can sit on this plane and you can fucking die with them or not. I’m not going to.” The bizarre outburst led to hours of delays for other passengers.

A passenger who opened an emergency exit door during a flight in South Korea was arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of violating aviation security law, according to officials. The 33-year-old told investigators that he felt suffocated and was trying to get off the plane quickly, police said. The incident slightly injured twelve people after the man was able to open the exit door of the Asiana Airlines Airbus A321-200. Passengers reported being terrified. Some testified they suffered severe ear pain and others were seen screaming and crying. A video shared on social media shows passengers’ hair being whipped by air blowing into the cabin. Normally it is not possible to open the door but the man succeeded because the plane was flying at a low altitude on approach to land and there wasn’t much difference in pressure, according to Asiana Airlines officials.

A Spirit Airlines passenger, Tearaney Burroughs, faces assault charges after having a disagreement with a ticket agent. The argument escalated after she was turned away from the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for being “too intoxicated” to board her flight. Burroughs was arrested after she allegedly slapped the Spirit Airlines employee in the face. Bodycam footage shows the officer saying, “I got a witness and I got a victim who said you put your hands in the lady’s face.” The officer responded to a report that a passenger was trying to push her way through the gate and onto the jetway. She was booked on a simple assault charge.