Chameleon chaos around aircraft

Unyielding chameleon delays aircraft preparations

It was a basic flying training institute equipped, among other things, with portable wooden trolleys fitted with electrical batteries for checking some aircraft systems and starting the engine. These trolleys were parked at a distance from the aircraft and brought close by a couple of ground crew members. The outlet cable was then connected to the aircraft, switched on, and intimated to the cockpit crew with a ‘thumbs up’ signal. Once all the servicing operations were completed and documented by technicians, the person overseeing the work would inform the pilot that the aircraft was ready for flight.

On a foggy Monday morning, after the ground crew had completed all the scheduled checks on the aircraft, the pilot was informed of its readiness for flight. Soon the pilot drew near the aircraft, carried out all the necessary external checks on it, entered the cockpit, and, making himself at home, requested the ground crew connect the electrical trolley for preflight checks in the cockpit and engine start.

As the ground crew got around the trolley parked afar from the aircraft and removed the canvas cover, they stopped short of even touching the equipment, seeing a sizeable chameleon resting slick on the trolley handle, appearing as a monstrous figure in the hazy morning. The men around the equipment attempted to shoo it away by tapping their feet hard on the ground, clapping hands, and throwing small grit stones, but all to no avail as the reptile remained firmly on the handle.

The chameleon, with its long tail curled upwards, occasionally bobbed its ugly, rugged head, as if to mock at the men’s futile attempts to move it.

As the reptile remained unstirred by even a wee bit from where it was, with the men around it trying all the minatory means they could to drive it away and the man in the cockpit blowing up and hollering at those who were at their wit’s end, not knowing how to get rid of the creature and bring the trolley towards the aircraft, one of the labourers mowing grass on a dime and watching the struggle drew close to the equipment, picked a half-broken brick lying nearby, and cast it slick at the spine-chilling creepy crawly that straight jumped off and bolted into the nearby shrubs, limping. The technicians rolled the wheeled equipment double-quickly towards the aircraft, connected its cable, and signalled the pilot to start the engine.