Maggots falling from an overhead luggage bin has stopped a US plane from taking off.
Passengers were horrified to see the larvae dropping onto an unsuspecting passenger as others began to panic and cause a commotion, US media report.
US Airways blamed spoiled meat in a suitcase on board the Atlanta-to-New York flight on Monday.
The plane was taxiing down the runway at Atlanta's international airport when passengers were told they would be returning to the airport gate because of a "minor emergency".
"The maggots, they started to drip out of the bin in row 15," passenger Dona Adamo told TV network Fox 5.
Flight stewards discovered the infested suitcase and alerted the cockpit.
"A couple of women [were] getting very upset, so a flight attendant came back and told them to sit down, and then one particular woman got out of her seat and started tapping herself,” said Adamo, who captured the incident on her mobile phone camera.
Passengers exited the plane as clean-up crews came on board to remove the maggot-ridden suitcase and make sure no other carry-on items were contaminated.
The plane then continued with its passengers to a scheduled stopover at Charlotte where the aircraft was taken out of service and fumigated.
Passengers boarded another plane to New York.
Front page
RSS Feed