Summertime, and the maggots are easy

It's summertime, which means that for people in many parts of North America, certain types of vermin are particularly well-represented in kitchen cupboards, bathroom corners, basement nooks and, heck, just about everywhere. Mosquitoes, cockroaches, water bugs, and other little flying and scurrying insects make their presence especially well known across North America during the summer.

But maggots? Maggots, thankfully, we see less frequently than garden-variety mosquitoes and water bugs.

Passengers on US Airways flight 1537 on Monday from Atlanta to Charlotte were not so lucky as the rest of us. Flies and maggots materialized in the cabin before take-off. Some passengers were even rather terrifyingly rained on by maggots after more decaying flesh. Entomophobes everywhere will certainly find the cell phone video of the experience, taken by a passenger, to be seriously stomach-turning.

Apparently some rotting meat was responsible for the presence of maggots and flies on 1537. Thankfully, the airplane did not take off as scheduled. Passengers were removed from the plane, and a cleaning crew then boarded to scrub the overhead luggage areas clean. The plane then flew on to Charlotte, where it was fumigated. As disgusting as the event originally was, it appears to have been dealt with properly by US Airways.

Beyond the mere curiosity of the event, there is some irony in the fact that it comes during one of the best weeks for press for the airline in recent memory. US Airways has gotten great coverage this week for its ultra-cheap Twitter-publicized fares.

(Image: Flickr/asrusch)

Filed under: North America, United States