Delta Flight Races Against Hurricane Irma, Becomes Twitter Hero

One of my favorite, over-the-top scenes from The Mummy Returns (aside from the entire film) is when Brendan Frasier and company band together to outrun the sun. That's right: They manage to run faster than an uber-powerful beam of light, from our solar system's biggest star, and crash into the shadows of safety.

It's exactly as preposterous as it sounds, because the film is trying to convince the audience that these everyday humans in the film are faster than the speed of light. But I'm OK with that, because it's a movie. I'd never expect it to happen in real life.

But some pilots at Delta probably didn't get the memo about outrunning nature's natural phenomenons being impossible, because that's basically what they did when they outran Hurricane Irma.

And just in case you got to thinking any old airline could've pulled off this stunt, there were a few that tried, but couldn't manage the logistics to actually pull off beating the hurricane. Some, understandably, even turned around.

Some called Delta reckless for attempting to fly during the storm.

But the airline persisted.

But the airline's team of dispatchers knew what they were doing.

Every leg of the journey was down to the wire.

They sped up boarding as fast as they could.

People were in awe of Delta's speed and precision.

And they managed to beat Irma right before it hit.

They plane was able to land, taxi in, fuel up, get checked for another flight, board passengers, and get back in the air in 52 minutes. Holy. Moly. That's fast. 

But it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies from there: The pilots still had to wade through the parts of the storm that were calm - they found the one pocket of quiet and rode that until they were out of harm's way.

It was a concentrated effort.

The Internet is showing nothing but respect for the pilot.

The eye of Hurricane Irma struck the west coast of Florida on Sunday, leaving more than 2.5 million homes without power, and parts of the city of Miami under water. Three deaths have been reported in Florida, with 28 people killed when the storm made its way through the Caribbean. 

Irma is expected to continue along the coast of Florida before heading inland towards Georgia.