- Oct 9, 1999
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http://www.nbc5i.com/news/9510175/detail.html
FORT WORTH, Texas -- An American Airlines employee said he was so concerned about mice infesting an aircraft that he shot hidden camera footage after he said enough wasn't done to solve the potentially dangerous problem.
American Airlines confirmed that the plane was infested with mice, but defended how it handled the problem.
KSHB-TV, the NBC affiliate in Kansas City, obtained the hidden-camera video of a Boeing 767 undergoing maintenance at an American Airlines facility in Missouri.
The video shows the interior and exterior of the aircraft where the mice were found.
"We had to take the chairs off, and that's when everybody saw mice running around on the floor, and one ran down one of the mechanics' arm," the anonymous employee said.
The worker said they found nests in the air vents, dead mice in the emergency oxygen masks and droppings along the edge of the whole aircraft.
Denny Kelly, an aviation expert, said it's a serious safety issue.
"You know, you take a rodent like that, it could be either a mouse or a rat, and they get inside the airplane someplace where there's electrical wiring and chew through it, it could be very serious. It could be catastrophic," said Kelly.
But the "whistleblower" said the plane flew repeatedly from New York to Los Angeles, even after the airline knew of the mice problem.
American Airlines acknowledged that mechanics later found the mice had chewed through wiring for the public address system.
"When you fly 100 hours and not take care of the problem, you are putting the people traveling in danger," said the anonymous employee.
American Airlines spokesman John Hotard said in a statement that the plane was always safe to fly and said the airline did try several times to trap the mice. Hotard said workers ultimately found 17 mice on the plane.
The spokesman did acknowledge that that rats could have become a safety issue.
"At some point those mice could have chewed through some electrical wiring," Hotard's statement said.
American Airlines said mice do turn up from time to time on planes, and that the airline sets traps -- just like you would in your home.
On Wednesday night, the plane in question was back in the air after undergoing extensive maintenance. And the American Airlines spokesman said he's confident it's now "mouse-free."