Fur Paying Passenger


The recent story about a cat in the cockpit (Straight and Level, 17-23 August) has prompted Vasco O'Higgins, our Latin American correspondent, to relate the tale of a freeloading mouse that paid the ultimate price for a flight on a TAM Fokker 100. Vasco says:

"the flight was about five minutes short of its destination when one of the flight attendants noticed a white mouse on the floor of the forward galley area. Interrupting the pre-landing galley check, he removed one of his shoes and, with a well-aimed blow, dispatched the hapless rodent. Tossing the dead creature into the bin, the attendant made a mental note to write up a pest control inspection request for the daily check.

After landing and after most of the passengers had disembarked, the flight attendant noticed a middle-aged woman crouching beside the seats. "Excuse me ma'am, can I help you?" he asked.

Self-loading cargo: "I know it's completely against the rules, but I brought my pet mouse with me and I seem to have lost it."

Flight International 7 - 13th Sept 2004

Last updated: 16 February 2015