Hummingbird
Closes LAX Indefinitely
A hummingbird
wreaked havoc on LAX, becoming the fourth bird in a month to disrupt
critical services at the airport. Officials downplay the incident
as SWAT teams are summoned to resolve the situation.
by George Wolfe
A hummingbird attacked several jets and cut a major power feed to
the main tower with its beak, causing frustrated Los Angeles International
Airport officials to declare the airport to be "closed indefinitely."
"I've worked here twenty-five years and
I've never seen anything quite like it," said engineer, Bill
McDaniels. "It's like that Hitchcock movie, The Birds. None
of us are safe as long as this bird keeps terrorizing us. It's bringing
the whole city to its knees!"
"I've worked here twenty-five years and
I've never seen anything quite like it... It's bringing the whole
city to its knees!"
— Bill McDaniels,
LAX engineer
The hummingbird's activities forced x-ray,
metal-detector and explosives-detection machines to reboot and recalibrate,
leading to possible lapses in airport security. Officials tried to
downplay the standstill of traffic, but with SWAT teams combing the
airport and tarmac in search of the elusive bird, and sandbag walls
being built, there was no denying a crisis.
At one point, F-15 and Hawker Harrier fighter
jets were spotted chasing the hummingbird and firing various weaponry,
but to no avail. In a case of friendly fire, an errant smart bomb
destroyed a row of abandoned warehouses in Inglewood.One passenger,
two airport employees and four SWAT-team members received lacerations
from the hummingbird, though only one was reported to be life-threatening.
Given this hummingbird's uncharacteristic
tenaciousness, more than a few people have speculated that the bird
is the work of terrorists. "I'll bet they've trained it, you
know, like a homing pigeon," said Torrance resident Bernadine
Delgado. "Why would they close down the airport if it wasn't
a serious threat? This is the fourth time this month that birds
have closed the airport — and they try to tell us it's a coincidence?!
No way. I'm going straight home and locking my doors and bolting
my windows!"
At dusk, power remained out at the airport and
their was no apparent success in apprehending the elusive, renegade
hummingbird.
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn urged patience and asked anyone near
the airport to refrain from carrying drinks with sugar in them,
"cause those damn birds love that stuff!"
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