In-Flight Rats

June 2004

There are always stories of stowaway cats that circle the globe, or the dog that escapes when transiting the Fiji Islands. My story is of a different animal, a rat. Many Pan Am employees knew him as Rodney the Rat. When Pan Am was still flying, they had different names for every aircraft painted on the nose, such as: Clipper Mermaid, China Clipper, and Clipper Empress of the Sea. Rodney lived aboard Clipper Unity. To be more specific, he lived in first class. There had been more than fifty reported sightings of Rodney worldwide, and numerous reports of him in the maintenance logbook

The legend of this rodent was one of those stories that you hear about, but never actually believe--stories that others just talk about to keep the flight more interesting. Apparently, the mechanics had taken apart the whole section directly underneath the first class cabin. They found his home, along with some sensitive wires that he had bitten through, but they never found Rodney. He had a hole in the cabin panel that they kept plugging up, but he just kept gnawing through

I worked on Clipper Unity several times, but was never senior enough to work up front. I checked the logbook, and verified that there had been many documented reports made on Rodney. One day I heard that he was officially dead--pesticide had been his undoing. Personally, I preferred to look at his demise as old age, or as too much to eat; I was sure that he died with a smile on his face. Whatever the case, Rodney was no more; the sightings ceased, and he faded from everyone’s memory.

I was pass riding (flying as a stand-by passenger) one day in October to New York. The flight was fairly full, but I was able to get one of the last seats in first class. I recognized the woman sitting across the aisle from me; she was the Captain’s wife and often flew on his flights. I settled in for a nice meal and an excessive amount of delicious and expensive red wine, then fell fast asleep.

Awaking mid-way through the flight I spied the face of the Captain’s wife full of horror. It was as if she was screaming silently. It was dark in the cabin, so I couldn’t make out right away why she was freaking out. Frozen with fear, she pointed at the first class credenza (table). I saw nothing at first; but after a second glance, I made out a small puppy-like creature standing on its hind legs, attempting to grab a roll. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Rodney! It had to be!

I just sat still staring at this legendary creature. He was brown, and did not appear to have missed many meals. Two large teeth poked out of his mouth, but he was cute, in a strange sort of way. It was like meeting the movie star you always dreamed of meeting.

Everyone else was fast asleep. Everyone that is, except the captain’s wife, who by this time, was close to passing out. Rodney looked around a bit, then settled on a half-eaten roll he found on the floor. I could tell he had his eyes on a specific pastry but it was out of his reach. With a roll wedged in his mouth he waddled towards the front of the cabin and disappeared through a hole between the wall panels, forcing the piece of bread through first.

The captain’s wife shot out of her seat in an instant, and just as quickly, the captain came down to investigate the scene. I never in my life have seen a pilot react quicker. After checking the hole he came over and asked if I had seen the rodent as well.

I smiled, nodded, and asked him, “What’s the name of this airplane?”

“Clipper Unity, why?” he asked.

“Oh, no reason.” I smiled like a little boy.

“You’ve heard of him too?” he inquired.

I nodded my head, and he continued, “I thought we got rid of him.” He left for the cockpit, undoubtedly to write up another report. His wife, not surprisingly, never returned to her seat.

We landed in New York a few of hours later. I waited until every first class passenger had disembarked, then walked over to the hole that Rodney had disappeared through. I dropped the pastry he had been eyeing, and wedged it through with my foot. I am sure he got it.

Now that Pan Am has since gone out of business, I’m sure Rodney has retired to Florida somewhere, and is probably bragging about his many adventures in flight.      

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