American restoring flying hovercraft that had sat abandoned for 10 years finds thousands of ants living inside it
Published on Mar 07, 2026 at 8:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Mar 03, 2026 at 6:06 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
When this American got his hands on a flying hovercraft that had gone untouched for 10 years, he found a very unpleasant surprise sitting inside.
YouTuber Matt Spears had been hoping to fix up this hovercraft, which used to be in the US Navy.
It was undoubtedly going to be a project – a decade of abandonment doesn’t come without consequences, of course.
But the unexpected – and unsavoury – surprise he found inside will make your skin crawl.
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This flying hovercraft had become infested in the last 10 years
In its heyday, this flying hovercraft would have majestically glided across water in a gravity-defying spectacle.
Nowadays, it’s a shabby-looking ruin.
“Ever since I bought this, it’s been one thing after another,” Spears commented.
We’re talking about rotten wood, rotten fiberglass, and a troublesome engine.
Spears is no stranger to a hovercraft project, having previously worked on one that had been deserted for 20 years.
But taking on a colony of ants doesn’t sound like fun, does it? Well, that’s exactly what he found inside.
And this is no small community either, it’s a massive nest filled with larvae.
Despite his weeks of efforts, ants were still continuing to emerge from deep within the structure of this hovercraft.
Even an ozone machine under a tarp wasn’t enough to stamp out the problem.
Things were getting desperate – was it time for a backup plan?
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Could these ants be sent packing?
The ants had created a complex tunnel system throughout the right side of the aircraft.
This led him to conclude that the right side was unsalvageable, and he decided to shave off the infested top layer.
He poured on two-part polyurethane expanding boat foam to provide a new structural surface.
The foam adhered wonderfully, but as he was sanding the new layer, he discovered more ant tunnels.
Forget cockroaches, it turns out ants are the insects that can survive just about anything.
Large sections of the old polystyrene would need to be replaced with new foam boards.
And there were yet more ant colonies in the bottom of the hovercraft.
If Pixar is ever looking to do a sequel to A Bug’s Life, they’d need look no further than this ill-fated vessel.
As frustrating as this all was, he is determined to keep going with the restoration.
Hopefully, all of this strife will be worth it in the end.
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Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
