Back in June, we learned that a small wasp’s nest had the power to divert a plane full of passengers. Today, we discovered that a swarm of bees outside the aircraft has the ability to delay a flight. 

NBC News reports that about 1,000 bees swarmed under the wing of an American Airlines flight preparing to push back from a gate at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport yesterday.

According to passengers on the flight, the incident started when a queen bee flew into the aircraft’s wing before departure.

As a result, about 1,000 other bees followed.

“Most passengers are up and watching – just ‘beemused,'” Karin McCay, a reporter who happened to be on the flight, told KFOR Channel 4 in Dallas. 

Beekeepers, decked out in protective suits, were sent under the wing to sort out the commotion.

American Airlines did not reply to NBC News’ request for comment on the incident, but McCay says the flight took off just an hour behind schedule.

1,000 Bees Delay American Airlines Flight in Dallas/Fort Worth [NBC News]
Bees delay one journalist’s flight, interrupt another’s interview [KFOR Channel 4]

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