Air India Flight Grounded After Rats Discovered Aboard Plane
An Air India flight was reportedly grounded when flight crew members spotted rodents running around the cabin.
Air India flight AI021 was traveling to New Delhi when flight crew members observed “scores” of rodents running around the aircraft cabin.
After landing safely at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Dehli, passengers disembarked and the flight was immediately taken out of service, the Times of India reports. The plane was then taken to a bay for fumigation to eliminate all rats on board the aircraft.
“Rats on board an aircraft can lead to a catastrophe if they start chewing up electric wires of a fly by wire plane,” said an unidentified commander said. “If that happens, pilots will have no control on any system on board leading to a disaster.”
Rats are known to board planes through the catering vans that replenish food and beverages onto planes before takeoff.
An Air India spokesperson said that rats aboard planes occurs globally and is not native to their carrier.
In a post-flight survey, the rats unanimously preferred chicken over the pasta.
I’ll take the rats over the pasta any day. Airplane pasta is gross!