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Chinese airliner forced to land after rat found on board Chinese airliner forced to land after rat found on board
(35 minutes later)
BEIJING — A Chinese airliner returned to an airport shortly after takeoff because a rat was discovered in the cabin. BEIJING — A rat found scuttling around the cabin forced a Chinese airliner to return to an airport shortly after takeoff on Friday morning.
The rodent was found shortly after the Loong Air flight from the eastern city of Hangzhou left early Friday for the southwestern resort city of Xishuangbanna. The rodent was found shortly after the Loong Air flight left the eastern city of Hangzhou for the southwestern resort city of Xishuangbanna, the airline said on its official microblog.
It wasn’t clear how the rat gained access to the plane, although the official Xinhua News Agency said it wasn’t brought on board as a pet and may have arrived with the meal service. It wasn’t clear how the rat gained access to the plane, although the official Xinhua News Agency said it wasn’t brought on board as a pet and may have arrived with the meal service. Along with worrying passengers, rats can damage a plane’s electrical and other systems.
Xinhua said the plane was fumigated and disinfected after landing, but gave no word on the fate of the rat. “Considering the threat to passenger health posed by the rat and the possibility of endangering flight safety by biting through wires, the captain flew back to port in the best interests of public health and safety,” the airline said.
Along with worrying passengers, rats can damage a plane’s electrical and other systems by chewing through wires. Loong Air said the plane was fumigated and disinfected after landing. No word was given on the fate of the rat.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.