Top > World > 2007 > February > 2007-02-26

Squirrel Disrupts Inter-Continental Flight

The Honolulu Star reported Friday that American Airlines` flight 176 from Tokyo to Dallas was diverted from its set course to Honolulu, after the pilots heard strange noises from their over-head compartments. The source of which later turned out to be a squall, who had some how been able to make his way on to the plane, the newspaper reported.

The pilots decided to land the plane, out of fear that the squirrel would chew the electrical wiring, which could have caused technical problems, an airline spokesperson said. You do not want a varmint up in the wiring areas and what-have-you on an airplane. You don`t want anything up there," said John Hotard, spokesperson for the Ft. Worth, Texas-based airline. The spokesperson added that the pilots followed proper procedure. The 202 passengers of the Boeing 777 were put on different flights to their destinations. Officers of the state Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service set traps on the plane and captured the squirrel. Later, it was decided to put the little creature to death, for fear that it may have rabies.

State Agriculture Department spokesperson Janelle Saneishi said that it was unclear how the squirrel got on to the plane. It was reported that the plane arrived to Tokyo from New York, a possible entry point for the squirrel. The animal was identified as an eastern gray squirrel, a species native to North America, South Africa, England and Italy. The squirrel`s rabies test has yet to return from the lab.