El Al Flight Arrives at JFK With Dead Horse On Board
El Al has a good safety record among human passengers. Among horse owners, though, its reputation has just taken a hit.
American officials are now investigating the death of an equine traveler on El Al flight 831, which arrived at New York’s JFK Airport from Belgium on Friday morning.
The flight was carrying a 1-year-old European warmblood horse named Virteuse, who didn’t survive the journey. Worth $140,000, the horse apparently didn’t enjoy the early stages of the flight, “kicking forcefully” about 30 minutes into the trip, according to its onboard handlers. It then settled down for the remainder of the trip, dying at an unknown point before landing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now performing a necropsy — an autopsy for non-humans — to identify the cause of death.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO