Qantas, like most large airlines, has parked large parts of its airfleet in various desert holding areas, waiting for return to service. The airlines have standard routines for avoiding damage from heat and disuse, but up to now Qantas hasn’t had a problem with rattlesnakes.
Up to now. Because nature has a way with idle equipment. As the airline has moved planes from the Mojave Desert to its Los Angeles base for inspection and maintenance it’s been finding rattlesnakes and scorpions that have made homes in the wheel wells of its A380s.
To deal with it, technicians have invented a new tool: the Wheel Whacker, essentially a broom handle stored as part of each plane’s engineering kit and carrying its registration number. Tim Heywood, Qantas U.S. engineering manager says it works well:
“We’ve encountered a few rattle snakes and also some scorpions, but the wheel whacker does its job and they scuttle off. It’s a unique part of looking after these aircraft while they’re in storage and it’s another sign of how strange the past year has been. These A380s would rarely spend more than a day on the ground when they were in service.”
Members of the Washington press corps who normally accompany President Biden to events probably wished yesterday for a solution that efficient to their problem: the plane that was to fly them along on the President’s European trip was delayed several hours in Washington, DC when it was discovered the plane had been invaded by swarms of cicadas.
