Live Rodent Loose on Aircraft Provokes Emergency Landing

A live rodent forced a Scandinavian Airlines flight to make an emergency landing after it contaminated a passenger’s meal, BBC reported.

During a recent flight from Oslo, Norway to Malaga, Spain, an unidentified woman opened her in-flight meal only for a live mouse to come popping out of the tray. Because the rodent posed a “safety risk,” according to airline spokesperson Oystein Schmidt, the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark. Passengers were later taken to Malaga on a different plane.

"Believe it or not, a lady next to me here at SAS opened the food and out jumped a mouse,” passenger Jarle Borrestad wrote on Facebook. “Now we have turned around and landed at CPH [Copenhagen Airport] for flight changes.”

While finding a mouse on an airplane is “something that happens extremely rarely,” according to Schmidt, there are actually some very strict rules governing their presence onboard because they can chew through an aircraft’s electrical wiring. They’re particularly dangerous because many of their noshings go unnoticed, which can lead to short-circuiting or risk of fire.

“Once mice live in an airplane, it’s not only their house but…their bathroom, too,” the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association noted. “This is more than simply gross. Mouse urine is corrosive to metal, and their droppings can serve as anti-desiccants, retaining moisture and causing water corrosion,” it explained. “If you see a mouse in the hangar, the correct response is to jump into action.”

Schmidt assured prospective passengers that the airline has the situation under control. "We have established procedures for such situations,” he said, “which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again."