LaGuardia Airport had quite the incident earlier this week when a raccoon got loose in a terminal.
The critter ended up entering the facility through the ceiling. In a now-viral video captured at the scene, the raccoon drops down onto a cabinet before eventually hitting the ground and absolutely terrifying passengers at a Spirit Airlines gate.
Videos by VICE
Before we get any further, nobody was hurt.
Screams were heard as guests broke out into chaos to attempt to flee from the animal. Watching this unfold in the clip, I can’t help but think of the scene from “Elf” when Buddy goes to hug a raccoon and quickly regrets doing so. Nothing like that happened here, but I totally understand why people would be running away from the raccoon. No one wants those sharp claws near their face!
The entire ordeal took about five minutes, according to CNN. The airline company issued a statement to the outlet, as well. In it, they explained that they brought in a wildlife control company to investigate the terminal in hopes of discovering the entry point to ensure nothing like this happens again.
The raccoon was captured and released back into the wild after its fun little joyride at the airport.
Raccoons aren’t generally dangerous to humans but are more than capable of posing a threat under the right circumstances. Besides carrying potential diseases, the animals can become aggressive when threatened. Remember that Buddy the Elf scene? The raccoon didn’t want to be hugged and thought the giant human was attacking it, thus it attacked back. Nothing like that happened at the airport, thankfully, as everyone steered clear until professionals arrived.
The Port Authority also told CNN that it is taking extra measures to ensure this doesn’t happen again, because there’s really nothing worse for business than the fear a wild animal will pop out of the ceiling at any moment.
