Report Details

United Flight: Lufthansa Flight 4869 and United Flight 903 MAN/MUC/IAD

December 28, 2006: 3:00 PM Animal: Cat

Narrative Description: Description of incident: On December 28, 2006 passenger checked a cat in a kennel on Lufthansa Airlines from Manchester England to Munich with a connection to United’s flight 903 to Washington Dulles. On arrival in Dulles the kennel door was ajar and the kennel was empty. The aircraft hold was checked as was adjoining areas of the aircraft. Further attempts to locate the cat on the airport grounds were ongoing. The cat was discovered on the same aircraft, on January 16, 2007 in Denver. The cat was immediately taken to a veterinarian hospital where she was treated for dehydration and released and delivered to the owner.

Description of cause of the incident: The kennel was in good condition and it cannot be determined when the kennel door became ajar.

Description of any corrective action taken: United procedures were followed and we continued in our efforts to locate the cat. Upon locating the cat we immediately provided care by taking the cat to a veterinarian. We are examining and analyzing our hold configuration and will implement any changes deemed necessary resulting from the analysis.