On Aug. 31, 1999, a rat was sighted on an Air New Zealand flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, via Papeete, Tahiti. Yes, you read correctly. A rat. The coarse-haired, pink-tailed, long-snouted rodent that, along with the aforementioned cockroach, will one day inherit the Earth. "The rat was sighted by crew but their attempts to catch it failed when it ran to the rear of the aircraft," said Air New Zealand spokesman Cameron Hill. (Yeah, sure. Most flight attendants get squeamish when asked to carry a loaded barf bag to the lavatory. Try to get one to catch a rat.) "Later in the flight," Hill continued, "a passenger in business class felt something on her right leg, lifted her blanket and found the rat on her knees."

Talk about rattling experiences.

New Zealanders Dee Tracy and Paul Sanford had boarded the plane in Papeete. "We were sitting right down the back of the plane and a woman in front of us said, 'Oh, my God, there's a rat' -- and the rat went into a panic," Tracy said. "I jumped up onto the closest seat, but I was about six seats from where I was supposed to be sitting, so I had to climb over the seats to get to mine."

When the flight finally landed in Auckland, quarantine officials were there to meet it. A search of the airplane and of passenger baggage failed to turn up the rodent, which, according to witnesses, was the size of a small cat. The plane was subsequently quarantined and fumigated. The rat was later found dead in the cockpit.

Seven weeks earlier, on July 6, a similar event took place aboard an Air India flight. This time the plane was preparing to depart Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As the New Delhi, India-bound aircraft rolled down the taxiway prior to takeoff, passengers reportedly shouted that there was a rat on board. Passengers and crew disembarked while the plane was fumigated. Sixteen hours later, the plane was finally on its way -- the rat was never found.

Canadian Airlines joined the in-flight rat race back on Feb. 17, 1996. Apparently, this particular rodent escaped from a catering container shortly after the plane took off from Hong Kong. Realizing the potential problems a loose rat might create if the plane continued on its 11-hour flight to Vancouver, British Columbia, the pilot decided to divert the aircraft to Tokyo. Passengers were subsequently booked on other flights. Many were angry, not simply because of the inconvenience but because they suspected the rat was a prank. The plane, filled with holiday merrymakers, had taken off near the start of the Chinese New Year, which had begun the preceding Monday. And it just happened to be the Year of the Rat.

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