Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, is seen on Jan. 1, 2021. (Mainichi/Tadakazu Nakamura)

       NARITA, Chiba -- One of the two runways at Narita International Airport near Tokyo was closed for an hour and 38 minutes after the carcass of a small animal, apparently a raccoon dog, was found on Oct. 13.

       The carcass was discovered on the 4,000-meter-long Runway A at 7:14 p.m. As a result of the temporary closure, a total of four departing and arriving flights were delayed by between 21 and 45 minutes.

       According to the Narita airport office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the pilot of an arriving airplane reported a foreign object on the runway. An inspection found the carcass of a small animal, and a special vehicle cleaned the runway surface. During the temporary closure, aircraft used Runway B.

       The incident came after a turtle was spotted walking on Runway A on Sept. 24. That time, the runway was closed for 12 minutes, delaying five departing flights -- including an All Nippon Airways Airbus A380 superjumbo with sea turtles painted on the exterior -- by up to 15 minutes.

       (Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Narita Bureau)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0