Single Bee Takes Out Plane’s Navigation Systems, Emergency Landing Creates Major Buzz

A recent Flybe flight forced to return to its airport of origin due to a bee strike taking out navigational equipment.

Flybe Flight 384 was forced to return to Southampton Airport (SOU) shortly after takeoff Friday due to a mid-air collision with bees. The Telegraph reports the de Havilland Dash 8-400 was in the air for around 15 minutes when a bee strike jammed navigation systems.

BE384, en route from SOU to Dublin Airport (DUB), initially took off without any issues. However, once airborne, a single bee became lodged in one of the navigational instruments, causing the systems to lose functionality. Pilots opted to return to SOU for the safety of passengers onboard.

Once BE384 was the ground, engineers were able to pinpoint where the lone bee entered the aircraft and remove its carcass. The flight took off for DUB a second time following a two hour delay.

“We were probably ten to 15 minutes out of [SOU] and they said they had some issues with the navigational systems,” said Noel Rooney, one of the passengers aboard BE384. “They were being light-hearted about it and the pilot was telling us about the bumblebee’s remains being removed from the instruments.”

A Flybe representative confirmed that a single bee was responsible for the incident, adding: “The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline’s number one priority and Flybe regrets any inconvenience experienced as a result of the delay to this flight.”

While a British judge ruled earlier this year that bird strikes could qualify as an “extraordinary event” for compensation, there’s no word if bee strikes could qualify passengers for compensation.

[Photo: iStock]