Air tales

I'm glad I'm not planning any flights in the near future because there have recently been more bad news plane stories than I care for.
Mice were found on a United Airlines flight to Beijing recently, some dead, some alive. The problem with this, besides mouse droppings where you don't want them, is the possibility of one of the little rodents chewing through the plane's wiring and circuits.
And we know the problems that might bring following a recent Qantas flight which reportedly lost it's power generating capacity after a drip tray dripped onto and shorted wires. The plane used back-up power for the remainder of its flight - although this may not have ended so well if they had not been so near the airport!
But at least the future is brighter. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may offer passengers something more to do with their time than watch movies. Apparently the FAA is concerned that as the computer network in the passenger compartment is connected to the plane's control systems, there is a possibility the aircraft will be vulnerable to attack by hackers.
Of course, that's not the only type of attacks air-travellers could be concerned about. Reports last week advised that American Airlines is set to test its anti-missile system. Up to three of their jets will be fitted with laser technology developed to protect planes from terrorist missiles. Makes you wonder how they'll test it, doesn't it?