Turtle Invasion Grounds Flights At JFK

Airport Runway Temporarily Shut Down after at Least 78 Terrapins Crawled onto Tarmac

(AP)  A runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport was shut down briefly Wednesday morning after at least 78 turtles emerged from a nearby bay and crawled onto the tarmac.

Grounds crews eventually rounded up the wayward reptiles and deposited them back in the brackish water farther from airport property, but not before the incident disrupted JFK's flight schedule and contributed to delays that reached nearly 1 1/2 hours.

"Apparently, this is something the tower has experienced before," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters. "I guess it's the season for spawning."

The invasion began unfolding, slowly, at around 8:30 a.m., when an American Eagle flight crew reported seeing three turtles while taxiing out for departure. Before long, a chorus of pilots was radioing the tower to report turtles either on the end of a runway that juts out into the water, or approaching on the grass.

The FAA halted flights for about 12 minutes shortly before 9 a.m. while some of the turtles were cleared away, then quit using the runway entirely after getting new reports of "massive numbers" of turtles on the tarmac, Peters said.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman John Kelly said airport crews gathered up the turtles in about 35 minutes.

He identified the turtles as Diamondback terrapins, a species common to Jamaica Bay, which surrounds the airport. The turtles appeared to be about 8 inches long and weigh 2 to 3 pounds each.

Jets hit turtles a few times each year at JFK, usually in the final days of June or earliest days in July, according to the FAA's wildlife strike database. There have been no recent reports of the strikes causing any damage to an airplane.

[mswolfestock]

They should have made turtle soup and fed the homeless.

[drcfrb]

This is fantastic. I'm so glad they stopped to move them. None the reports seemed to be able to find pictures of diamondback terrapins, but its so nice the story was reported to raise awareness of the importance of turtles and saving them. Thanks to the staff so took such care to replace them in the Bay. They I hear were in transit to lay eggs... so JFK and the caring staff did their part to preserve an important part of our ecosystem. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

[docpeter1953]

Well at least a turtle won't, or shouldn't, end up in an engine.