A SpiceJet Boeing 737-800 had to abort takeoff from the airport in Surat, India after colliding with a buffalo that had wandered onto the tarmac. Apparently nobody saw the 1,000 pound beast 'til it was too late because it blended in with the runway so well.
BBC News says SpiceJet COO Sanjiv Kapoor blamed "lax airport security."
He's got a point... the water buffalos of India get up to around 50" tall and can be as heavy as 2,000 pounds. That's a pretty big hole in the fence somewhere.
Reports say the animal was killed but all humans involved made it off the plane unscathed, onto another jet, an on to their destination of Dehli eventually. SpiceJet describes animals as "a growing menace in some airports," and the BBC reports "jackals, antelopes, peacocks, porcupines, snakes, monkeys, foxes and dogs" have also inconvenienced the massive mechanized trying to get people around India recently.
Image by the author via AP and Mario Micklisch/Flickr