Northern Hills Homeowner's Association

Don't be saying ''When Pigs Fly'' any more.

Oct 29, 2000

By DON RUSSELL
Knight Ridder Newspapers
10/28/00

PHILADELPHIA - In a bizarre episode that rattled flight attendants and embarrassed US Airways officials, a 300-pound pig was boarded into the
cabin of a Boeing 757 and flown nonstop with 200 other passengers on a six-hour cross-country flight. No, the pig wasn't a frequent fryer.

Instead, sources familiar with the incident believe the pig's owners convinced the airline that the animal was a "therapeutic companion pet,"
like a guide dog for the blind.

"I guess it was supposed to be a Seeing-Eye pig," said an eyewitness aboard the flight. "Frankly, I couldn't tell what kind of therapeutic service it was providing.
"All I know is, it was ugly and it pooped."
A chagrined airline spokesman provided few details.
"We can confirm that the pig traveled and we can confirm that it will
never happen again," US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said
Thursday.
"Let me stress that. It will never happen again."
The pig flew Oct. 17, aboard US Airways Flight 107, from Philadelphia to Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Its owners, who were unidentified, were described as two women, one in her 30s, the other a senior citizen.
An internal incident report said the owners claimed they had a doctor's note that required them to fly with the animal.

"According to Philadelphia agent who talked to passenger over phone . . . passenger described pig as being 13 pounds, so based on this info,
authorization was given," the report stated.

"I'd estimate 300 pounds," said one source aboard the flight. "It took four people to wheel it in, past security and to the gate. And they were struggling."

US Airways policy allows passengers to fly with so-called "service" animals. Usually, though, the companion is a trained guide dog or other small pet.
"There is nothing that states that a pig - a barnyard animal - is considered a service animal," said Luther Riggs-Zeign, president of the
Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants.

"Even if it was a dog, 300 pounds is well in excess of what you'd allow on a flight," Riggs-Zeign said.

Witnesses said the pig's owners exhibited no obvious impairments.

Baggage charges were waived, and the pig was seated on the floor, in the first row of first class.

When pigs fly . . . they apparently fly first class.
The animal was so big, much of its bulk extended into the aisle, according to the report.

"It didn't smell, it was a clean pig," said a witness on board the flight. "It slept almost the whole time, like a pig in a blanket."

Few passengers complained.

"Mostly, everyone made jokes about what we were having for lunch - like BLT sandwiches," said the source.

It wasn't till the aircraft taxied into Seattle that the pig wreaked havoc.

Squealing loudly, it madly ran loose through the aircraft and tried to enter the cockpit. It finally found refuge in the food galley, where it
refused to budge.

"Many people on board the aircraft were quite upset that there was a large uncontrollable pig on board, especially those in the first-class
cabin . . .," the incident report stated.
"It was scared, it was very scared," the source said.
Finally, someone lured the pig from the galley with food.

Then, the two female owners - struggling to control the porcine beast - managed to drag it out of the aircraft and into the Jetway.

That's where it left its mess.

"Once the pig was off aircraft, another passenger had to push while the two women pulled to get it in the elevator.

"The whole time, the pig was squealing so loudly everyone in the terminal heard it," the report said.

Federal Aviation Administration officials vow to investigate the incident.