Alligator heads toward main runway, near jet-gator collision

A 7-foot alligator that was heading towards the runway at Punta Gorda Airport in South Florida nearly caused a collision with a commercial jet. Fortunately, the alligator was stopped before either the alligator or the commercial jetliner was hurt, reports UPI on Jan. 12, 2013.

As both alligator and commercial jetliner were heading towards the airport’s main runway, Punta Gorda Airport’s security called Agriculture Det. Justin Treworgy.

Agriculture Det. Justin Treworgy found the alligator about 30 feet away from the main runway as the commercial jetliner was approaching for its imminent arrival. While an FWC officer and an airport security officer distracted the alligator, Tregworthy snuck up behind the alligator and quickly clamped his hands around the alligator’s scaly mouth.

After taping the alligator’s mouth shut, Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) officers drove the alligator away from the flight line and the flight path of the commercial jetliner and relocated the alligator to an area that was more suitable for an alligator.

If the alligator would have been successful in his runway approach, it could have caused “a serious problem” for both the alligator and the commercial jetliner, reported Bob Carpenter from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Department.

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