By MIKE O'BRIEN

Winging it: The trapped bat makes the first of its four trips up the cabin aisle

Children crying constantly, oversized people who snore loudly... the list of potential nuisances on a plane is almost endless.

But short of a serious terror alert, a bat flapping wildly around your head when you're in mid-air has to top them all.

A Delta flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Atlanta, Georgia, had to be rerouted back to Madison on Friday when a bat caused chaos in the cabin.


So close, but so far: At this point the bat flies near the bathroom door before turning around and flying up the aisle again


An unidentified passenger took video of the bat on his cell phone and posted it to CNN's iReport, the news network's forum for members of the public to publish their own news.

He described how he was asleep when a 'flying animal' that he believes was a bat started moving through the cabin.

He said: 'I woke up to a small scream and then I saw the bat fly over my head.
'I grabbed my phone to get some video as my friends would never believe this.


Flying menace: Passengers scream as the bat flies close to their heads

Then, as if by magic, it flies straight into the bathroom, upon which one passenger quickly closes the door to the collective sighs of relief and a few thumbs up.

Jarek Beem, a spokesperson for Delta Connections partner Atlantic Southeast Airlines, confirmed that flight 5121 did in fact return to Madison after a 'flying animal' was reported in the cabin.

The plane was searched fully before flying out again.

Mr Beem said: 'We were not able to confirm if it was a bird or a bat.

'Bottom line is the flight did return to Madison so the aircraft could be searched and it was after that search that it was able to return to Atlanta.'





source: dailymail