A bald eagle startled TSA employees at Charlotte Douglas International Airport by deciding to rest its wings so it could fly the open skies like the rest of us.
As seen on Twitter earlier this week, Clark, a 19-year-old bald eagle with the World Bird Sanctuary, lined up with his handlers to pass through a checkpoint in North Carolina.
Even the TSA’s official account for the area’s airports made mention of his appearance.
They wrote: “The personnel at @CLTAirport Checkpoint A probably did a double take when they spotted a genuine one earlier this week. TSA officers are used to seeing an eagle on their uniform as they peek over their shoulder.”
“The World Bird Sanctuary’s Clark the Eagle was our special visitor; he choose to travel commercially and rest his wings.
We screened him and his handler after his airline contacted us to do so. Even throughout the screening, Clark displayed his ability to stretch his wings.
Given that Clark’s handlers had called ahead to alert the agents to his travel, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
According to the WBS website, Clark’s story is special because he was born with scale deformities on his feet while all of his siblings were successfully released into the wild.
Due to the malformations, Clark would have conditions like frostbite and toe loss throughout the winter since his feet would not be adequately protected from the cold.
He is one of the organization’s flying ambassadors and joined the World Bird Sanctuary’s Eagle Flight Team due to his impairments.
One individual can be heard saying “America, heck yeah” while discussing a cleaned-up version of a song from the movie Team America: World Police in a video that has received thousands of views on Twitter.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Elijah Burke, who was the man singing along, described it as “a sight to witness” as he was returning from a wedding he had attended with his girlfriend.
According to TSA Southeast spokesman Mark Howell, this is hardly the most bizarre instance of non-humans using the friendly skies. He has seen young cougars, penguins, and even an artificially coloured “service chicken.”
Daniel Cone, Clark’s trainer, describes the security checkpoint as being routine for him.
I’ve travelled with this eagle so many times that I don’t even think twice about it anymore, he said, according to ABC News.
Cone continued, “He’s a ham, he eats it up,” adding that he and Clark don’t mind the attention.
Before allowing Clark to travel, the agents put him through the same inspection process they use with all service animals. Cone has a specially made bird carrier that fits in the cabin bulkhead.