Buzzing bees keep passengers away from plane

Mumbai: It was the passengers who saw them first.
“We had stepped onto the tarmac and were about to board the plane when we saw the amazing sight. A blanket of bees covered the nose of the jet and the plane’s entire front portion up to the front doors,” said Sudhir Kulkarni, a passenger. “It was really scary. We panicked, fearing an attack, and some of us started running.”
“The passengers were boarding Jet Airways' Flight 9W 327 9.45am flight to Ahmedabad on Wednesday when we saw the bees,” a Mumbai airport official said. “No one was stung.”
The anxious passengers were shepherded into the plane from the rear end, the door was shut and locked, and the airport fire services were called in.
But as their hoses pounded the fuselage with water jets, more surprises were in store. Some of the bees flew away but most died and stuck to the aircraft.
The plane took off after a 20-minute delay, the dead bees smeared on its body. By the time it landed in Ahmedabad, though, the bees had fallen off, probably burnt crisp.
29/06/07 The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Jun 2007, Jet Airways Jun 2007, Safety Jun 2007