Turtles invade New York airport, delaying flights

Reptiles crawl onto tarmac in search of beaches to lay their eggs

NEW YORK - About 150 turtles crawled onto the tarmac at New York's Kennedy airport on Wednesday in search of beaches to lay their eggs, delaying dozens of flights, aviation authorities said.

The slow-motion stampede began about 6:45 am, and within three hours there were so many turtles on Runway 4L and nearby taxiways that controllers were forced to move departing flights to another runway.