Plane in emergency landing after dog attack

Last August in Congo a plane crashed because of a crocodile in the cabin, some laughed but not those among us that flew in the area (see details below).

Now the same almost happens in the US because of a 12-pound Manchester terrier named Mandy.

Or shall we say because of a dog owner?

A US Airways flight headed to Phoenix made an emergency landing in Pittsburgh after a dog on board bit a passenger and a flight attendant.

US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher says the flight left Newark, N.J., on Monday morning. Lehmacher says an elderly passenger carrying a dog let the animal out of its carrier and it bit the two.

Lehmacher said the company's policy is to allow pets in the plane's cabin if the pet and its cage can fit under a seat. The policy also states that the pet may not be let out of the cage.

Mandy became agitated after her sedatives wore off, Allegheny County Police Inspector David Walsh told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The flight, carrying 122 passengers and five crew, resumed without the woman and her dog.

The 89 year old woman boarded a different flight.

Maybe the TSA could charge the old lady of being a "terrierist"?

______________________________________________

in case you had not seen this:

The Congo "Crocodile" air crash

(wikipedia: Bandundu Filair Let L-410 crash)

The 2010 Bandundu Filair Let L-410 crash occurred on August 25, 2010, after a Filair aircraft crashed on approach to Bandundu Airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 20 people.

The aircraft was operating a passenger flight from N'Dolo Airport, Kinshasa to Bandundu Airport, Bandundu, Mai-Ndombe Province. At 13:00 local time (12:00 UTC), the aircraft crashed into a house approximately 1 kilometre short of the runway at Bandundu.

According to most sources, no one was injured on the ground. Of twenty-one people aboard the plane, one survived the crash. Local Radio Okapi reported that the aircraft ran out of fuel after being unable to land at Bandundu, but Filair later declared that 150 litres of kerosene were still on board, affirming that a technical problem had caused the crash.

Daniel Philemotte, the Belgian airline owner, was at the controls of the aircraft himself. Most of the dead were Congolese. Soldiers of MONUC were the first to reach the crash site and reported that no explosion appeared to have occurred, supporting the original hypothesis of fuel scarcity.

The lone survivor of the crash claimed that a crocodile hidden in a duffel bag had escaped. The frightened passengers then moved towards the front of the aircraft away from the crocodile. This affected the aircrafts weight and balance leading to a loss of control. The crocodile escaped as the plane approached its destination. The crocodile reportedly survived the crash but was killed by a blow from a machete.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Let L-410 Turbolet, registered 9Q-CCN, with construction number 912608. It normally carries up to 19 passengers. The aircraft involved was previously registered ES-LLB, and was operated by Airest, an Estonian airline, until 2007, and was stored until Filair bought it in 2009.

Filair Let L-410 Turbolet 9Q-CDN, identical to the crashed aircraft