Owl spotted in cockpit of parked Jet Airways flight at Mumbai airport
The nocturnal bird was eventually rescued and released
An owl made a surprise, and rare, appearance in the cockpit of a Jet Airways plane parked in the bay at Mumbai Airport on Monday morning.
According to reports, the crew found the owl perched next to one of the levers in the space between the window and the pilot’s seat in a Jet Airways’ Boeing 777 plane earlier today.
In one of the pictures captured by the crew, the light brown-white featured bird can be seen camouflaged with the cockpit’s interiors with its signature upright stance and piercing gaze.
The nocturnal bird was eventually rescued and released, the airline said. Its appearance did not affect the flight’s schedule.
An airport staffer speculated that the bird might have flown in via the entrance door after the cleaning crew opened it and made its way to the cockpit in a bid to escape.
The cockpit, incidentally, is one of the most secure sections of the plane and off-limits for anyone other than the pilots and crew members.
Owls are solitary and nocturnal birds of prey which hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds. They are known for their night hunting skills and ability to turn their heads and necks as much as 270 degrees.
