COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE This stowaway squirrel diverted a Tokyo-Dallas flight to Hawaii on Friday morning. CLICK FOR LARGE

Stowaway squirrel ends flight at Oahu

A squirrel that hitched a ride aboard a jet last week disrupted the travel plans for an American Airlines crew and 202 passengers.

Friday's Flight 176 from Tokyo to Dallas was diverted to Honolulu Airport after the cockpit crew heard the animal in an overhead bin. An airline spokesman said it was standard procedure to take precautions if there's a potential threat. There was concern the squirrel might chew through electrical wiring, the spokesman told Bloomberg News.

Passengers were rebooked on other flights, he said.

The Boeing 777 aircraft remained parked for several hours at the terminal while officers of the state Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service set traps, then captured the animal.

It is not known where and how the creature got aboard, said state Agriculture Department spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi.

The animal was identified as an eastern gray squirrel. The species is native to North America and is also found in South Africa, England and Italy, but squirrels are illegal in Hawaii.

Honolulu proved to be its final destination. Officials were concerned the globe-trotting squirrel might have rabies, Saneishi said, so it was killed. Results of lab tests for rabies are pending.