EEK! Stowaway rat delays Alaska Airlines flight

The Associated Press

Published: February 11th, 2011 10:26 PM
Last Modified: February 11th, 2011 10:27 PM

SEATTLE -- Alaska Airlines had to delay a flight about to leave Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when a rat was seen scurrying in the cabin.

The airline says the flight from Seattle to Denver had just pulled away from the gate Thursday morning when the stowaway was spotted. The 737 jetliner returned to the terminal, and passengers and crew boarded another plane about 90 minutes later.

Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan says the plane won't be returned to service until maintenance workers make sure the rat didn't damage equipment or chew any wires -- and an exterminator certifies the plane is rodent-free.

Egan says workers also are trying to figure out how the rat got aboard. She says in cold weather, "sometimes rodents can seek shelter in strange places."
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My response?
Flight Attendant: "We don't see many rats flying with Alaska Airlines!"
Rat: "With these prices and this service, I'm not a bit surprised."

So sorry to have been...

...gone so long, but really, I've discovered an activity that has been so addictive, it reminds me why I always put down all the "Dungeons and Dragons" geeks back in the day. I am now an on-line commenter, involved, thus far in the on-line versions of our local Valley Frontiersman, and the Anchorage Daily News. What's worse, it seems I've been accepted by these denizens of the daily (or thrice weekly, in the case of the Frontiersman). In a way, it's like being an accepted member of NYC's "unter-subway community" of homeless, yet at home souls. We don't have the power to change anything on the surface, but we're still here!
I haven't commented on some of the publications I read: HuffPo, Daily Kos, The Nation and others, only because they want you to access through "Facebook"and I haven't capitulated to that extent - yet.

You can get involved yourselves, or you can check on what bon mots I may toss in from time-to-time. You will easily guess my "handle" if you been reading my blog. Both Pubs are on-line. From time to time I will endeavor to share some of what goes on in this small pocket of the on-line under-belly. I wonder if in our new home, the Eugene Register Guard newspaper has such a place?