A Nepal Air flight out of Hong Kong has been grounded for two days now due to a mouse onboard a plane. Yes, a rodent mouse. Yes, it’s weird. But also sort of charming, in a disgusting, verminous way.
The mouse ran in the cockpit shortly before takeoff on Tuesday, but bailed before it was caught. The plane had to be evacuated, and 84 passengers were put up at hotels. As of Wednesday, the mouse remained at large, stuffing s**t up. The airline has set traps. Samuel L. Jackson is, apparently, unavailable.
It’s the second mouse-related incident this week. The same plane was grounded on Monday when a mouse jumped out of a box of drinks. That was, by all accounts, a different mouse, who is now in mouse heaven. Or quite possibly, mouse hell. It’s dead, OK? I’m not the mouse’s confessor.
I know what you are wondering: Why would a mouse ground a flight? I don’t know! My guess is that maybe it’s just an embarrassment, or, you know, a health hazard. But according to the Hong Kong Standard, it’s pretty much up to the airline.
A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Department said there are no regulations or guidelines as to what airlines should do when a mouse, or other creatures, are seen on a plane.
What? That is crazy!
In other words, if somebody sees a tiger on a plane, it could still take off based on the pilot’s discretion? I find that hard to swallow.
Here is an incomplete list of vermin, predators, and other creatures we do not want to see on a plane, ever, in increasing order of eekamouse:
Cockroaches
Ants
Mice
Bees
Leeches
Mosquitos
Gophers
Raccoons
Goats
Snakes
Osprey
Japanese Hornets
Bears
Lions
Catholic Priests
Wolves
Sasquatch
Orca
Bison
Hippopotamus
Sarah Palin
Kanye West
Ben Roethlisberger
Termites
Update: I just wanted to call out this great comment from Santos Helper:
Believe it or not it’s more common than you might think. In severe cases, we as maintenance people have to deal with this problem from time to time, and it’s a huge problem when it happens. They chew through wires and such causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. The usual practice is to fly up to a high altitude, with no pressurisation and let the little creature(s) quietly expire. With the peanuts, and snacks those guys can live on there AND breed indefinitely.
Image: Eric Isselée/Shutterstock