Meal-Borne Mouse Forces Diversion

Konstantin von Wedelstaedt/Wikimedia
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A Scandinavian Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger discovered a live mouse in their in-flight meal.
  • The landing was deemed necessary due to the mouse posing a legitimate safety threat to the aircraft, beyond just passenger discomfort.
  • The airline followed established procedures for the rare incident and is reviewing protocols with its catering supplier to prevent future occurrences.
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Although the ick factor probably justified it, the surprise appearance of a mouse in a passenger meal on a Scandinavian Airlines flight last week forced an emergency landing for a more practical reason. The wire-chewing rodent posed a legitimate threat to the safety of the flight, so the passengers spent some time in Copenhagen before continuing to Malaga, Spain, from Oslo.

Everyone was just settling in for the flight when a woman opened her meal packet and a mouse “jumped out.” Airline spokesman Øystein Schmidt told the Guardian the diversion was “in line with our procedures.” He also said they’d had a word with the caterer about their procedures. “This is something that happens extremely rarely,” he said. “We have established procedures for such situations, which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.”

Russ Niles

Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AVweb. He has been a pilot for 30 years and joined AVweb 22 years ago. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery.
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