Dog damages cargo hold of Croatia Airlines jet

NEWS FLASH

A Belgian shepherd chewed through his cage in the cargo hold of a Croatia Airlines Airbus A319 aircraft which was taxing at Zagreb Airport and preparing to depart for Stockholm, causing damage to the jet in the process, details have emerged. According to the “Avioradar” portal, the incident took place on September 30. The canine was heard by members of the crew, after which the decision was made for the aircraft to return to the gate. Passengers were transferred onto another jet as the airline determined the dog had caused damage to the cargo hold. The aircraft in question, registered 9A-CTL, returned to service after thirteen days, last Sunday. In a statement, Croatia Airlines said, “The details and circumstances that led to the incident involving the dog in the aircraft's cargo hold prior to the scheduled flight OU486 between Zagreb and Stockholm on September 30 are currently being determined. It can be confirmed that the airline, in preparation to transport the dog on flight OU486, complied with Croatian and international legal regulations as well as the corresponding internal procedures for carrying animals in the aircraft. Due to certain damages in the cargo hold of the aircraft, a decision was made to proactively withdraw the jet from service and undertake a technical inspection, while passengers from the said flight were transported to their final destination with our replacement aircraft that same evening”.