U.S. Officials Investigate Case of Flying Pig

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna.

 

 

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration is convinced

that pigs can fly. Now it wants to know how and why.

The FAA said on Monday its investigators are trying to sort through a

bizarre series of events that allowed a 300-pound pig to fly first-class

aboard a nonstop USAirways (U) flight from Philadelphia to Seattle.

 

In the rare case of a pig that actually flew, the porker boarded USAirways

Flight 107 on Oct. 17 with its two women owners and 198 other human

passengers, and slept for most of the six-hour flight.

 

But the animal went hog wild as the Boeing 757 taxied to the terminal in

Seattle. The squealing beast ran through the plane, discharging feces as it

went, and tried to get into the cockpit before taking refuge in the

aircraft's food galley.

 

The pig was last seen being hauled off the plane and into an airport

elevator by its two owners and another passenger.

 

"It will not happen again," promised USAirways spokesman David Castelveter.

 

FAA investigators were expected to examine the flight's passenger list and

interview every crew member on board the plane.

 

"We'd like to know how a 300-pound pig flew first class," said FAA spokesman

Jim Peters. "We're looking into all aspects -- safety and compliance and

sanitation. We want to know what the company's animal policy is."

 

The Philadelphia Daily News, which first reported the strange tale, said the

owners got permission to take their unruly pet aboard the flight by

producing a doctor's note that described the pig as a 13-pound (5.8 kg)

"service animal," like a seeing-eye dog. They also bought the pig a ticket.

 

At first, flight attendants tried to stow the pig in the rear of the plane

but found that it blocked an emergency exit. So they opted to wedge the

animal between seats 1A and 1C in the first-class section instead.

 

USAirways said it will allow passengers to board with dogs, cats and birds

as free baggage, but only if the animals are small enough to fit under a

seat in a container. There are exceptions for larger canines that serve as

guide dogs for the blind, however.

 

Hare Krishna --

 

ys, Balarama Dasa