Report Details

Type: Deceased Cat Date of Incident: December 21, 2010 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Routing: Phoenix, AZ – Atlanta, GA – Johannesburg, S.A. AWB: 006-71368695 Description of Animal: Feline, Sphinx apprx 10yrs old, named “Ra” Description of Incident: Delta Cargo accepted a 10 year old male Sphinx feline named “Ra”, for transport from Arizona via Georgia to South Africa, on Monday, December 20, 2010. All permits and documents needed to export Ra to South Africa were reviewed and adhered to the kennel. DL1546 departed Phoenix, on-time at 1152 and Ra arrived at the transient station in Atlanta at 1705. Given the duration of Ra’s next flight segment, his owner requested we overnight Ra. Once the feline arrived in Atlanta from Phoenix, ramp handlers mistakenly transferred him on to DL200 bound for South Africa. On December 21st, we received notification from our Johannesburg facility that Ra was unfortunately deceased on arrival. The aircraft heating and ventilation system for DL200 showed no record of any malfunctions. Temperatures at Phoenix, Atlanta and Johannesburg were 66F, 48F and 64F, respectively. Cause of the Incident: At the time of filing this report, Delta have not received the formal necropsy from the South Africa veterinarian. Corrective Action Taken: Stations will be reminded to apply the proper “Stop/Go” labels for animals traveling to or from the U.S. Additionally, international gateway stations will be instructed to compare information shown on the air waybill against the info shown in Delta’s booking system via internal communication.