A masked bandit was sending Spirit Airlines passengers into New York City’s LaGuardia Airport on Monday when a raccoon was spotted peeking through a ceiling tile.
Video shows the raccoon dangling from a cord from a ceiling tile next to the Spirit Airlines counter. A dive is soon required, landing on the ground and sending both airline crew and passengers into a panic as they run away.
As screams filled the budget airline’s terminal, another video showed someone carrying what appeared to be a trash can in an attempt to catch the raccoon.
This raccoon encounter took place around 8 a.m., after which the raccoon was safely removed, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement to NBC News.
Airport staff are working closely with a professional wildlife management company to monitor the area, identify potential entry points and take necessary precautions to prevent future incidents, the agency said.
Spirit Airlines confirmed that no injuries were reported.
LaGuardia was recently rated one of the nation’s best airports after an $8 billion renovation, a major turnaround for a hub once labeled by then-Vice President Joe Biden as looking like it was in a “third world country” ‘ belonged.
But the renovations did not include the location of the stowaway creature: Terminal A of the airport.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
