Cicadas ground White House press plane tailing President Biden to Europe
Brood X is inescapable. This week the insects slowed down a group of reporters.
- Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Worse than snakes on a plane?
Brood X cicadas are so abundant in the eastern United States they're showing up on weather radar and dictating the travel schedule of the White House press corps.
Scientists estimate trillions of the insects are filling the skies and just about every other available space after emerging from underground this spring for a mating ritual that happens just once every 17 years.
If you haven't encountered the insects in person, perhaps you've seen them interfering with TV reporters' live shots or heard about the car crash in Cincinnati reportedly caused by a cicada buzzing a driver's face.
#Crash single car into a pole at 2600 Riverside Drive. Caused by a cicada that flew in through an open window striking the driver in the face. #nothinggoodhappenswithcicadas #cicadas2021 pic.twitter.com/0WWUM8y5Ye
— Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) June 7, 2021
The latest is that the winged saboteurs temporarily grounded a plane full of journalists traveling Tuesday to cover President Biden's trip to Europe. A mass of cicadas reportedly got into the engines of the White House press charter, delaying takeoff for hours, according to AP White House reporter Jonathan Lemire, who was on the flight.
The White House press charter, flying from Dulles to Europe ahead of President Biden, has been delayed for hours - due to mechanical issues caused by cicadas
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) June 9, 2021
Yes. Cicadas.
After seven hours of cicada removal operations, the press corps was finally on its way to cover Biden's first overseas trip as president and, more importantly, to get a little respite from the cicada-pocalypse.
