The November, 2009 Airline Pet Travel Report contains pet incidents for the month of September, 2009.
American Airlines reports the death of a pet on a flight from Miami, FL to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. American states that there were no signs of damage to the kennel, but provides little additional details on the incident, not even indicating what type pet was involved.
Continental reports the death of a five year-old Boston Terrier named Buddy on a flight from Houston, TX to Atalanta, GA. A necropsy was performed and the veterinarian stated "Buddy sustained heart failure probably related to respiratory distress".
Northwest Airlines reports the death of two dogs. The first was a 4 1/2 year-old chocolate lab named Dixie who escaped her kennel while it was being transported to the airplane in Charlotte, NC. Immediate attempts to capture her were unsuccessful. She was found by animal control 11 days later and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Unfortunately the dart damaged her internal organs and though attempts were made to save her life, they were unsuccessful.
Dixie was accepted at the Charlotte airport by Worldwide Flight Services-WFS who handles cargo for Northwest. Northwest procedures were not followed a no zip ties were used to secure the door. In addition it was noted that the kennel was missing hardware to connect the top and bottom which might have also played a role in the escape.
Worldwide Flight Services have been involved in other incidents in the past.
Northwest also reported the death of a two year-old English Bulldog names Ulysses. Ulysses was traveling from Detroit, MI to Frankfort, Germany. He was found deceased upon arrival in Germany with no apparent damage to the kennel. The results from the necropsy are still pending.
| Airline | Losses | Injuries | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Continental | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Northwest Airlines | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Map of all airports that have reported an air travel, pet related incident.
The inspiration for PetFlight.