Stowaway raccoon delays Toronto-bound Air Canada flight for hours
A raccoon on an Air Canada plane caused major delays for Toronto-bound passengers yesterday.
Flight AC1126, from Saskatoon to Toronto, was scheduled for take off at 2:50 pm CST but was delayed for several hours as grounds crew and animal control removed panels from the jet in an effort to eject the stowaway.
Passenger Damien Lee live-tweeted the entire ordeal.
A raccoon has delayed my flight to Toronto. pic.twitter.com/AafLuKrRli
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
“For the first hour, it was really novel,” Lee told CBC. But three hours one, people were “starting to get a little more cranky, a little less interested,” he added.
Raccoon catchers are on the scene.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
The raccoon was reportedly discovered by airport personnel as bags we being unloaded from the previous flight.
I donāt know where that plane came from, but that poor raccoon just flew at (presumably) 30ā000 feet. Oxygen? Heat? Who knows.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Toronto does have a reputation as the raccoon capital of the world ā was this trash panda intentionally onrouteĀ to join his kind? Should the people of Toronto be concerned?
Current efforts seem to be focused on the right wing. Crew pulling panels off.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
More panels coming off. I respect the effort @AirCanada crew is putting into finding this raccoon. Itād be nice to get flight underway, but so far passenger lounge still finding this novel.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Lee continued toĀ chronicle the efforts of the crew to remove the animal as the hours drew on.
Some complimentary coffee and snacks would be nice tho. Flight was supposed to leave at 2:50 (itās 5:36 now). (Raccoon wasnāt only delay).
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Strategizing: pic.twitter.com/V6hdP3rmow
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Announcement: āWe will not be rebooking anyone. We donāt know if the raccoon is going to live or die.ā
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Crew now has garbage pail pressed up to the wing.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
Announcement: Affected passengers given meal vouchers.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 3, 2018
The captain is now working the animal catcher thingy.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Hi @AirCanada – Raccoon is still in plane. Weāve been waiting 3 hrs now (length of AC1126ās flight from YXE to YYZ). Itās probably time to rebook.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Hello Damien, we’re sorry about the delay. Please be assured that our ground team is working hard to have you on your way. /Ali
ā Air Canada (@AirCanada) May 4, 2018
Agreed. They definitely are. But that raccoon has evaded them for 3 hrs now, and itās getting dark. I canāt see us going anywhere soon – rebooking wld make sense at this point.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Still at it: pic.twitter.com/hT6kWSS7GS
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Gate crew announcement: āWeāre not rebooking until the plane cancels.ā
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Gate crew just handed our second meal vouchers to AC1126 passengers stranded by raccoon.
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
And eventually even reported a happy endingā¦ the raccoon managed to escape and evade potential captors āAlive and well.ā The animal was last seen running across a field.
Raccoon is out of the plane (and running across field now). Alive and well, due to folks like this: pic.twitter.com/MLfzCYd5Wf
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
Raccoon was caught on CCTV just before it dropped out of plane. Apparently vacationing: pic.twitter.com/STcEennZYQ
ā Damien š¦ (@damienlee) May 4, 2018
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