Several flights were delayed at an airport in Olathe, Kansas due to spiders attacking air traffic controllers.
At least five flights were delayed for at least 15 minutes on Saturday as air traffic controllers were bombarded with a spider infestation in the Air Traffic Control Center in Olathe, Kan., which controls the air space around Kansas City. Three employees were bitten during attacks last week, KSHB reports.
Air traffic controllers had to leave the center and move to another part of the building on Saturday.
Exterminators believe the spiders came from a nest egg that had hatched. A spider's nest was found underneath the desk.
"You're talking in some spider cases up to 400 and in large breeds, you're talking 1000's from one mom," CJ Workman with Schendel Pest Control said.
It is not clear what kind of spiders bit the air traffic controllers, but the FAA said that no travelers were ever in danger. The air traffic control center is having the exterminator come back one more time before they allow the operators to return to the office.
"Spiders love old buildings," according to KSHB correspondent Amy Hawley. "This building right here was built in the 1960s. They have chosen to nest inside because exterminators say spiders may have already known insects were creeping and crawling, hidden away."
This isn't the only recent incident in which an insect affected flights. In July, a US airways flight was delayed because a swarm of bees was surrounding the equipment that pushes planes from the gate. The incident caused an Indianapolis-bound US Airways jet to be grounded at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and passengers were stuck on the plane for at least two hours.
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