Skittering Squirrel Forces Plane to Land

In this undated photo provided by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, a Stowaway Squirrel is seen. The discovery of a stowaway squirrel on a flight en route to Dallas from Tokyo prompted pilots to detour their flight and its 202 passengers to Honolulu. Crew members in the cockpit of American Airlines Flight 176 had heard the animal scurrying about the wire-laden spaces above their heads and so decided to land in Honolulu as a precaution early Friday, Feb. 9, 2007, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Hawaii Department of Agriculture) (AP)

HONOLULU -- An American Airlines flight made an unscheduled landing in Honolulu after pilots heard something skittering about in the wire-laden space over the cockpit. The airline blamed the emergency landing of the Tokyo-Dallas flight with 202 passengers on a stowaway squirrel.

"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, spokesman for the Ft. Worth, Texas-based airline. He said pilots feared the animal would chewed through wiring or cause other problems.

"So, as a precaution, we diverted," Hotard said.

Once on the ground late Friday, the Boeing 777's human passengers were put up in hotel rooms and later rebooked on other flights.

Officers with the state and federal agriculture and wildlife officials boarded the plane, set traps, and captured the eastern gray squirrel.

The species is native to parts of North America, and has been introduced to other areas, including South Africa, England and Italy.

It isn't known where or how the squirrel boarded the plan, said Janelle Saneishi, spokeswoman for the state Agriculture Department.

Hotard said the plane had flown to Tokyo directly from New York before the Dallas flight.

Honolulu, however, proved to be the squirrel's final destination.

Fearing it may have been carrying rabies, authorities had the rodent killed, Saneishi said.

The results of lab tests on the animal were still pending Wednesday.

_____

On the Net:

Hawaii Department of Agriculture: http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/

___

Information from: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, http://www.starbulletin.com