Haneda Airport Forced To Temporarily Close Runway

The problem with birds flying near runways is that they seldom have a clearance. So, for almost two hours Saturday, Haneda Airport near Tokyo, Japan, was closed to commercial traffic so flocks and flocks of seagulls could play through. Closure of the runway forced the cancellation of 16 flights from Haneda as well as two-hour delays for other aircraft. One commercial plane had to return to the airport because of the debacle.

It all began early Saturday morning. At approximately 6:40 a.m., Japan Airlines Flight 931 sucked a seagull into one of its turbines as it taxied for take-off. At 6:43, the runway was shut down so the bird (or what was left of it) could be removed and workers could scare off its still-living friends. But they wouldn't scare. Over and over again, the runway had to be closed. JAL 351 managed to get off the ground. But the flight crew noticed some aberrant readings on their panel, so they turned around and landed back at Haneda. Shortly after that flight took off and returned, officials found more than 30 bird carcasses on the runway.

And the funny thing is, locals call Haneda "Big Bird Airport" -- not for the fowl, but for the heavy iron that comes and goes.

FMI: http://www2f.biglobe.ne.jp/~masaho/us/indexus.htm