Narrative:

Aircraft was dispatched from abc to xyz to ZZZ. A dog was loaded in the forward cargo bin at abc through to ZZZ. Kennel was placed against bulkhead at stn 520 just to the right of aircraft centerline. Upon arrival in xyz, ramp personnel discovered that the dog had escaped kennel en route. Dog was put back in kennel and shipped to ZZZ. This was noted on the ZZZ operations offload message, 'through dog forward, escapes kennel, caution when opening forward bin door.' dog had again escaped en route to ZZZ. During the flight the dog clawed its way through the forward cargo bin ceiling panel from stn 520-540. This panel required complete replacement prior to flight. Inspection of floor beam area revealed no other damage. However, primary and secondary flight control cables run immediately above this ceiling panel. It was fairly obvious that the dog had made contact with these cables by the dust/dirt that had been disturbed. Again, no damage was noted, and no delay was incurred by the subsequent replacement of the ceiling panel. It is my opinion that, had this flight been of longer duration, the dog could have manipulated/jammed these cables causing possible loss of flight control by the pilot and subsequent catastrophic loss of this aircraft. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter stated the breed of dog was a large alaskan husky and the defective kennel door latch allowed the dog to gain access to the cargo pit ceiling panel. The reporter said the panel was attached to a light framework below the floor beams with velcro and #10 sheet metal screws. The reporter stated the control cables were exposed and had been disturbed as evidenced by the dust and dirt in the area. The reporter said the panel was not secure enough to prevent the dog from clawing and chewing the panel and pulling it from the ceiling.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 INFLT HAD A LARGE DOG ESCAPE FROM A SHIPPING KENNEL AND ATTACK THE FORWARD CARGO COMPARTMENT CEILING PANEL EXPOSING AND DISTURBING THE FLT CTL CABLES.

Narrative: ACFT WAS DISPATCHED FROM ABC TO XYZ TO ZZZ. A DOG WAS LOADED IN THE FORWARD CARGO BIN AT ABC THROUGH TO ZZZ. KENNEL WAS PLACED AGAINST BULKHEAD AT STN 520 JUST TO THE R OF ACFT CTRLINE. UPON ARR IN XYZ, RAMP PERSONNEL DISCOVERED THAT THE DOG HAD ESCAPED KENNEL ENRTE. DOG WAS PUT BACK IN KENNEL AND SHIPPED TO ZZZ. THIS WAS NOTED ON THE ZZZ OPS OFFLOAD MESSAGE, 'THROUGH DOG FORWARD, ESCAPES KENNEL, CAUTION WHEN OPENING FORWARD BIN DOOR.' DOG HAD AGAIN ESCAPED ENRTE TO ZZZ. DURING THE FLT THE DOG CLAWED ITS WAY THROUGH THE FORWARD CARGO BIN CEILING PANEL FROM STN 520-540. THIS PANEL REQUIRED COMPLETE REPLACEMENT PRIOR TO FLT. INSPECTION OF FLOOR BEAM AREA REVEALED NO OTHER DAMAGE. HOWEVER, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY FLT CTL CABLES RUN IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THIS CEILING PANEL. IT WAS FAIRLY OBVIOUS THAT THE DOG HAD MADE CONTACT WITH THESE CABLES BY THE DUST/DIRT THAT HAD BEEN DISTURBED. AGAIN, NO DAMAGE WAS NOTED, AND NO DELAY WAS INCURRED BY THE SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT OF THE CEILING PANEL. IT IS MY OPINION THAT, HAD THIS FLT BEEN OF LONGER DURATION, THE DOG COULD HAVE MANIPULATED/JAMMED THESE CABLES CAUSING POSSIBLE LOSS OF FLT CTL BY THE PLT AND SUBSEQUENT CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF THIS ACFT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THE BREED OF DOG WAS A LARGE ALASKAN HUSKY AND THE DEFECTIVE KENNEL DOOR LATCH ALLOWED THE DOG TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE CARGO PIT CEILING PANEL. THE RPTR SAID THE PANEL WAS ATTACHED TO A LIGHT FRAMEWORK BELOW THE FLOOR BEAMS WITH VELCRO AND #10 SHEET METAL SCREWS. THE RPTR STATED THE CTL CABLES WERE EXPOSED AND HAD BEEN DISTURBED AS EVIDENCED BY THE DUST AND DIRT IN THE AREA. THE RPTR SAID THE PANEL WAS NOT SECURE ENOUGH TO PREVENT THE DOG FROM CLAWING AND CHEWING THE PANEL AND PULLING IT FROM THE CEILING.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.