Pit Bull Damages Planes Cargo Hold

[GizmoRedNosePit]

Pit bull damages plane's cargo hold
STEVE HUETTEL
St. Petersburg Times

Pilots heard a thumping sound as American Airlines Flight 282 approached New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and guessed that a 68-pound pit bull in the cargo hold had broken out of its kennel.

Soon afterward, they couldn't figure out why backup radio and data communications equipment went out as the Boeing 757 descended into JFK.

After the flight from San Diego landed, the captain and the dog's owner went into the cargo compartment and were shocked at what they saw.

Not only was the pit bull running loose, but the dog had chewed and clawed an 18-by-8-inch hole through a fiberglass bulkhead and bit through wires in an electronics compartment.

Alarmed by the damage, American banned adult pit bulls, rottweilers and Doberman pinschers - and related mixed breeds - from its planes five days after the July 22 incident.

While the dog didn't damage equipment critical to flying the plane, it was the first time the airline heard of an animal getting loose in flight and damaging a plane, spokesman Gus Whitcomb said.

American decided there was too much risk to continue carrying breeds of large dogs it considered overly aggressive, he said.

"We're on unique ground here," Whitcomb said.

"We don't know what spooked the animal, but we're trying to minimize the risk," he said. "The simplest way to do that is to prohibit these breeds from being taken on the airplane."

The Federal Aviation Administration investigated and did not recommend making any improvements to the 757, said Roland Herwig, a spokesman in the agency's Oklahoma City regional office.

But the Transportation Security Administration's hazardous cargo division will also investigate and could recommend new procedures for shipping aggressive dogs, he said. "They look at it as if a substance in a package got out and destroyed something," Herwig said.

Photos posted on American's Web site for pilots show at least four insulated cables severed in the electronics bay, which holds computers, wiring and gyros used for navigation. Pilots call the compartment "the brains of the airplane."

The damage was "a pretty significant event . . . cause for concern," said Sam Meyer, a MD-80 captain and spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represent American pilots. "You hope it's a one in a million event and you'll never see it again."

The airline is punishing responsible owners and unfairly stereotyping entire breeds of dogs as dangerous, says the American Kennel Club.

"This is a knee-jerk reaction to an incident that could have occurred with any breed of dog," said vice president Noreen Baxter.


http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/3865939.htm

[deepseasnake]

yeah from what I read today a jack russel terrier could have scaled the ceiling opened the compartment door took the passenger food droped back into the hold and built a robot out of the wheaties boxes. in my opinion they should band the little breeds! :lol:

just kidding :D

[science_doc]

I don't know if these statements are true or not so please don't bash me all to little tiny pieces, but I read an article about a rescue pit who could chew his way out of ANY crate made, even the super strong ones. Don't pits have pretty strong jaws? Don't get me wrong I have no problem with this or any other specific breed, but I wonder if the dog placed into the hold was a bit of an escape artist. If this is true shouldn't owners sedate their dogs if necessary for the flight? I'm not talking about full on anesthesia, but just a couple of sleepy pills? I hate to see blanket rules for anything in this world. Stinnks for everyone else who needs to get their dog cross country. Well please let me know if I'm wrong about pits, but I was under the impression that pound for pound they had the strongest jaws????????

[GizmoRedNosePit]

Science_Doc, I'm not going to bash you but pitbulls have the same strenght in thier jaws as all other breeds of dogs. Pitbulls just have ALOT more determination to keep holdiong on or in this case chewing on! LOL

All dogs can be escape artists....especially strong ones that can jump fences and are very determined!! :D

[science_doc]

Thanks for setting the record straight giz, there are so many myths out there especially bout the "dangerous" breeds :wink:

[Guest Anonymous]

Sedation - most of the airline rules state that the dogs may not be sedated. Their reason seems to be they may be held accountable should the dog die because of sedation. Although I know exotic animals are sedated for flight, but perhaps most do not use commercial airlines (zoos that is). Just wait until American finds out that some dogs of any breed, small or large, are just real escape artists, but I would think a regular shipping crate placed inside of more secure (?) type such as those for shipping wild animals could be used, but of course this would drive the cost way up. I do feel for those who show their dogs and do not have much choice for getting them across the country for shows, and those people with these breeds who are returning home from a foreign country (military personnel, etc.). It is going to make it much more difficult to get their pets home. In the future, it could be any breed, and I urge you to write the American Airlines. I'll certainly be boycotting this airline. Were the 2 drunken pilots from this airline, does anyone remember.

[Guest Anonymous]

I can KINDA agree with the airline. I wouldnt want to be flying in a plane with a dog tearing it up in the back. Also it is safe for the dogs too. But i can also see that they are blaming pits for nothing. They should just make owners have stronger crates

[deepseasnake]

my mom flies alot and when she takes her dogs with her she would make a mixture of 1 part honey 2 parts water and freeze it in the dogs water bowl. This has some kind of sleeping effect on the dogs when they lick the ice, it also allows them to drink while in flight.
I tried it with my husky quite awhile back and it worked great, he was much more normal when the flight was over