‘America, heck yeah!’ Watch a bald eagle go through Charlotte TSA. Did he fly?
Penguins, baby cougars, and now this week: Someone brought a bald eagle through security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
The eagle caused quite the stir in the airport among passengers and security. It can be seen flapping its wings on a man’s gloved arm while onlookers film. “America, heck yeah,” Elijah Burke can be heard singing in the background of an eight-second video of the bird. Over the last three days, his video on Twitter had obtained over 89,000 views.
“It was definitely a sight to see,” said Burke, who saw the eagle as he was walking through the terminal after arriving in Charlotte. He’d been away attending a wedding with his girlfriend in Michigan.
The eagle — named Clark — travels to events with the World Bird Sanctuary, according to Mark Howell, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration in the Southeast.
“TSA officers are used to seeing an eagle on their uniform as they look over their shoulder, but I’m sure the team at ... Checkpoint A did a double take when they saw a real one earlier this week,” Howell tweeted.
Clark is far from the most interesting animal Howell has seen come through the airport. He said he has seen baby cougars and penguins.
The most interesting animal he’s seen is a “service chicken” with dyed feathers that flew from South Carolina, he said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer.
Before arriving at the airport, Clark’s handler notified TSA. The agents screened him the same way they would a service animal before allowing Clark to fly. Small pets are allowed through the checkpoint, according to TSA rules.
Clark flew on Southwest Airlines, according to a spokesperson for the airline.
“Southwest Airlines works with reputable animal organizations, such as the World Bird Sanctuary, making special expectations to transport the animals in the cabin,” the airline told the Observer in an email Friday.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 3:01 PM.
