Maggots on a Plane: Maggots Rain from the Sky on US Airways Flight

Someone call Samuel L. Jackson! He got rid of the snakes on a plane. Maybe he could help with the maggots. In what can only be described as the most gut wrenching story of the day, a US Airways flight was forced to return to the gate at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport due to maggots. Yes, that's right, maggots.

The Associated Press is reporting that passengers aboard a US Airways flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday were "creeped out" by maggots falling from an overhead bin. Apparently airport security can keep us safe from terrorists, but not maggots. Troubling doesn't even begin to describe this story.

Maggots, the larval stage of flies, are to be expected in a trash can or on a decaying carcass. But how did they ever get onto an airplane? What was the source of the wiggly creatures? The culprit turned out to be a container of spoiled meat from which the maggots escaped while the plane was taxiing down the runway. The container had been carried on board the plane by a passenger and placed in the overhead bin.

While taxiing down the runway, passengers reported hearing a commotion near row 15 of the plane as another passenger got up from their seat and refused to sit back down. That's when they saw it- maggots dripping out of the overhead bin above row 15.

"Then I heard the word 'maggot' and that kind of got everybody creeped out," said passenger Donna Adamo. "All of a sudden, I felt somebody flick the back of my hair and on the front of me came a maggot, which I flicked off me." Adamo filmed some of the incident on her cell phone and can be heard explaining her experience with the maggots here.

There was an immediate announcement that the plane would be returning to the gate due to a "minor emergency." Once the plane had returned to the gate, passengers deplaned and a cleaning crew removed the maggot filled bag and cleaned the overhead bin. Passengers were then allowed to reboard the plane and the flight continued to Charlotte. Once there, the plane was removed from service and fumigated. The passenger whose maggots caused so much commotion was moved to another flight. Despite the delay, no passengers missed their connecting flights, as planes were held for them. It is not known what happened to the maggots. Don't worry PETA people. I'm sure they were treated well.

None of the passengers reported smelling any foul odors at any point during their brief time on the plane with the maggots, though they did see quite a few flies.

It is not known why the passenger brought the spoiled meat on board the plane. A more troubling question is why the passenger was allowed to board with such cargo. When I flew recently I couldn't even board the plane with more than a few ounces of shampoo. Yet this passenger was allowed to board with rotting meat and live maggots in their carry on. In all fairness to the passenger, the list of restricted items did not include live maggots. Maybe now it will.