Mice Ground 767

Editorial Staff

Sunday, July 16, 2006 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An American Airlines B-767 (N320AA) experienced a significant mouse infestation, which led to damage including chewed insulation and dead mice found in emergency oxygen masks.
Maintenance workers discovered the infestation in early May, documenting the damage and reporting it to the FAA's safety hotline.
There was a large discrepancy in the reported number of rodents, with an exterminator estimating up to 1,000 mice, while the airline stated only 17 live mice were found.
American Airlines insisted the plane was safe to fly despite the infestation and that such incidents are rare, now reporting the aircraft fully repaired and back in service.

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American Airlines says it has fixed all the damage a rampant mouse infestation caused to one of its B-767’s (N320AA) but not soon enough for maintenance workers who discovered the rodents. According to documents obtained by KARE TV in Minneapolis, the first mouse sighting was in early May and the plane was only cleaned, repaired and returned to service last week. According to the TV station, maintenance workers in Los Angeles shot video of the damage (which included dead mice in emergency oxygen masks and chewed insulation) and called the FAA’s safety hotline. At the time, an exterminator apparently told the whistleblowers that there could be up to 1,000 mice on the plane but the airline said only 17 live mice were found. The airline also insists that the plane was safe to fly with all the extra passengers on board (which it did on numerous occasions) and that mouse infestations are rare in airliners.