This One Rates High On The "Ick" Factor

As you've probably heard by now, a new movie is set to come out in the United States this summer called "Snakes on a Plane"... and the title pretty much sums up the plot. That story is, of course, a work of fiction, intended to appeal to peoples' fears of being in a confined space with the slithery creatures. Well, in that vein, may we present "mice on a plane?"

This is no movie, though. Seems that St. Louis's KSDK television station obtained a hidden camera video of the conditions on the lower decks of an American Airlines 767 recently... that showed, among other things, chewed wiring.... nests built near oxygen generators and air vents... and all the other, um, signs of a full-blown rodent infestation.

The worker who reportedly shot the video -- while the plane was in for overhaul at Kansas City International -- said that when crews removed the chairs in the main cabin... mice ran EVERYWHERE... even crawling down a mechanic's arm. Workers also reportedly found dead mice in the emergency oxygen masks.

The worker also told the station an exterminator estimated there were as many as... are you ready for this?... 1000 mice onboard the widebody... although in a written statement acknowledging the problem, American says that number was closer to 17.

Mice on a plane can a problem for many reasons... not the least of which, besides the substantial "ick" factor, is that they could start a fire.

Meanwhile, the plane is reportedly back in service... complete with a new, mice-free cabin and ventilation system.

American says passengers flying onboard the infested plane were ever in danger from the mice. Well, maybe not... but if any of those snakes we mentioned (which, alas, aren't limited to commercial airliners) should ever get on a plane loaded with mice... at least they'll have something to eat besides the passengers.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.orkin.com