Report: Mouse grounds plane at HK airport

In a twist of irony, a small mouse has managed to ground an entire Boeing 757 plane at Hong Kong’s Check Lap Kok airport this week. The mouse sneaked into the cockpit of the Kathmandu-bound Nepal Airlines aircraft, preventing it from taking off since Tuesday night, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported. At least 84 passengers waiting to board the plane were stranded as a result, the RTHK report added. RTHK reported the pilots spotted the mouse in the cockpit shortly before departure Tuesday night, prompting the cancellation of the flight. The RTHK report added the mouse was still on the loose on the aircraft as of Wednesday afternoon. It quoted an airline spokeswoman as saying the plane would remain at the airport while the hunt for the mouse is ongoing. A separate report on British Broadcasting Co. said passengers were to stay a second night in a hotel as efforts to trap the mouse continue. Nepal Airlines General Manager Sita Gurung said the plane would have to remain in Hong Kong until the mouse is caught because it poses a potential safety risk. She said the mouse was capable of chewing off the aircraft's cables and could unsettle some passengers. "We have made arrangements for all of the affected passengers to stay at hotels in Hong Kong," she said, adding that they will be flown home on another airline if the delay was "unduly long." The BBC added the incident is the second embarrassment for the Nepalese airline this week - the same plane was reportedly grounded for more than 11 hours at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport last Monday also because of a mouse. The BBC report said a similar incident happened in August in Stockholm (Sweden), when a mouse on board a SAS Airbus left 250 passengers stranded. Also, two Delta Airlines flights from New York to London were cancelled in November 2009 after mouse sightings inside the plane. — LBG, GMA News