Here’s an example of a big problem in a small package — Air India passengers heading to London lived through a nightmare yesterday, as their flight had to be grounded, all because a rat had been spotted onboard. To the dismay of 256 fliers, this discovery was made two and a half hours into the flight, forcing the pilot to turn the aircraft to Mumbai again.
AI 131 — an Ahmedabad-Mumbai-London flight — was to take off from Mumbai at 7.30 am, but finally departed at 7.55 am. After the 25-minute delay, passengers settled in for the 9-hr flight to Heathrow airport. However, two and a half hours into the flight, just as the Dreamliner aircraft was coasting over east Iran, the pilot announced that they were returning to Mumbai due to a technical snag.
In truth, one of the crewmembers had spotted a rat onboard, and passed on the information to the pilot, who had no choice but to turn back, in case the rat gnawed through any of the aircraft controls. This is not the first instance of a flight being grounded due to rats onboard (see ‘Pest problem’). In such cases, flights have to be grounded immediately to assess any damage, as rats can chew through crucial wiring or other equipment, leaving the aircraft out of control.
The fliers were finally told about the rat once the flight had touched down in Mumbai at 12.37 pm — by this time, the fliers would have been halfway to London.
31/12/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
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AI 131 — an Ahmedabad-Mumbai-London flight — was to take off from Mumbai at 7.30 am, but finally departed at 7.55 am. After the 25-minute delay, passengers settled in for the 9-hr flight to Heathrow airport. However, two and a half hours into the flight, just as the Dreamliner aircraft was coasting over east Iran, the pilot announced that they were returning to Mumbai due to a technical snag.
In truth, one of the crewmembers had spotted a rat onboard, and passed on the information to the pilot, who had no choice but to turn back, in case the rat gnawed through any of the aircraft controls. This is not the first instance of a flight being grounded due to rats onboard (see ‘Pest problem’). In such cases, flights have to be grounded immediately to assess any damage, as rats can chew through crucial wiring or other equipment, leaving the aircraft out of control.
The fliers were finally told about the rat once the flight had touched down in Mumbai at 12.37 pm — by this time, the fliers would have been halfway to London.
31/12/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day
