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Eight mice found - dead and alive - on United Airlines flight
If something runs over your foot on your next flight, beware: it might not be the beverage cart. In a reversal of roles, the United States nearly imported its own tainted goods to China on a United Airlines flight recently. While en route to China, United employees discovered a total of eight mice -- some dead, some alive -- hidden in pillows throughout the cabin. On arrival, Chinese officials greeted the plane with rat poison and mouse traps.
The story was printed in newspapers yesterday, along with lists of viruses mice can carry. The articles also probably incited panic when they wrote of the potentially fatal damage mice could do by chewing through wires on aircraft.
Could these tiny creatures be more dangerous than the terrorists?
Think that's bad? Check out some other unpleasant flight experiences. How rotten would it be flying...
[Thanks to Joshua Davis (articnomad) for the great shot of a plane.]
Filed under: Asia, China, United States, News
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
moe Jan 11th 2008 4:31AM
CRAP!....I fly this trip all the time too. I have had scorpions and all kinds of stuff you don't want to know about. The cleaners change the pillow cases on every flight INTL and I think they woulda noticed something like mice wriggling about...Maybe they came from the pillow vendor. or maybe it was sabotage.....lots of angry people out there who took 50% pay cuts .......Another reason I carry my own pillow and blanket on INTL flts........
babydoll Jan 11th 2008 5:45AM
I took an American Airline flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles California. While in flight I opened the folded blanket on the seat. To my surprise I found vomit all over it. It wound up on my hands. I brought it to the flight attendant, who told me there is nothing she can do about it and that she didn't have another one. Not that I wanted one! When I got home I was deathly sick. I contacted American Airlines who never got back to me. They finally issued a check to me for $500.00. It wasn't worth the money!!!! Then recently on another vacation they lost my bags for 2 days. I had no clothes. They authorized $100.00 to spend, now they say they don't have this information in the computer! American Airlines has turned out to be one of the worst Airlines. Jet Blue is the best!!!!!
brittany Jan 11th 2008 6:13AM
Man, THAT'S WHY I DON'T EAT CHINESE FOOD..fxck all that.. nasty!
rosie Jan 11th 2008 4:20PM
I guess we should be thankful they are just mice and not terrorists....we can learn to accept anything, look at how we think &2.95 a gallon for gas would be good now.
Sage Jan 11th 2008 4:36PM
Eeeeew! Seriously, people.....it's NEVER a good idea to use the pillows and blankets on airplanes because of the "cooties" you can get from other people! For long flights, bring your own pillow!
Brandi Jan 11th 2008 5:13PM
On my last Flight to Las Vegas, Nevada, My husband and I , and our 2 kids stood up to get off of the plane and our row of seats flipped over. We had made the whole trip without our seats being bolted to the plane. I haven't been on a plane since we returned home.
Reggie Jan 11th 2008 5:42PM
Are you sure United didnt have " MICE GOO GAI PAN " on their menu for the flight??
I think, some chinese guy brought it on the inwards flight from china to the U.S, and our passengers only discovered it when it was flying outbound back to china..
Brian Jan 11th 2008 6:45PM
I have a couple. On a return trip from Manila to Los Angeles, I got off the plane to realise I had gained a whole crop of FLEA BITES!!
Last year on United (again) we left London Heathrow bound for Washington IAD with an errant FLY who quite happily buzzed any one it felt like. How do you reckon TSA handled that one, or did they pass it on to ICE??
John Jan 11th 2008 6:41PM
Run for your lives, its a freakin mmmooouuuusssseeee.
William Bischoff Jan 11th 2008 6:46PM
With that many mice being found on one flight, I would suspect the possibility that someone might have PUT them onto the plane as a form of "terrorist attack" OR SABOTAGE. Especially when a number of them were found in the pillows. Mice aren't that "picky", nor that resourceful, to be able to find the "cushiest" place on the plane.
Bigmouth Jan 11th 2008 7:28PM
Noooooooooo, that's Chinese Airline food
Karl Jan 11th 2008 7:39PM
Did the mice get a special price for their flight?
TB Jan 11th 2008 8:00PM
Why is everybody surprised and shocked? I am not
One sees what goes on when you board any airplane in the States. I am happy they stopped the food otherwise this critters would be hiding in there to.
NOthing works in the USA when it comes to the Airline industrie, Take a look at Europe, also not perfect BUT what a difference in all aspects of service and overall clean airplanes.
BUT we are the BEST , right? I keep forgetting this once in a while, our denial and boasting we are the best makes me ill sometimes.
boxermomtx Jan 11th 2008 9:48PM
I worked a flight from New Orleans to JFK one nite... The carton the experimental "mice" (I'm sure they were really rats) were in broke open in the cargo bin and they were coming up through the vent system... OH JOY! We were standing on the jumpseats!
lr white Jan 16th 2008 9:33AM
Very serious, mice got inside the front cowling off my motor cycle and destroyed all the wiring, bike had to be completely re-wired, it could cause a plane to fail in flight.