Woman Discovers Cockroach On Plane Window During Flight, It Survives The Journey

20-8-2023 (BEIJING) A woman from China had an unexpected encounter with a cockroach during her flight and was surprised to find the insect clinging to the outside of the plane window. She ended up closely observing the cockroach throughout the entire journey, and to her amazement, this uninvited passenger managed to withstand the low temperatures and pressure outside the aircraft and successfully reached its destination after almost three hours of flying.

According to Chinese media reports, a woman surnamed Guo shared her experience online. She was aboard a flight from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, to Ningbo on Wednesday. During the flight, she happened to turn around and noticed a cockroach stuck to the outside of the window. “I suddenly turned around and saw a cockroach there,” she said.

In a video she captured, a large cockroach can be seen on the exterior of the plane window, with its antennae, legs, and abdomen clearly visible. It clung tightly to the glass with all six legs, while the blue sky, clouds, and the plane’s wings were visible outside.

In a subsequent interview, Guo admitted that she was initially startled by the cockroach outside the window. “I never thought there would be a cockroach on the plane,” she said.

However, as time passed, she found it rather amusing and decided to keep her eyes on it, finding it to be an unexpected source of entertainment during the journey. “I thought it was quite interesting, so I kept watching it,” she said.

Surprisingly, this uninvited “passenger” without a ticket managed to endure the chilly conditions outside the aircraft and made it all the way from Xishuangbanna to Ningbo after a three-hour flight.

“It was there the whole time from Xishuangbanna to Ningbo. I thought it would disappear after two minutes, so I didn’t inform the flight attendants. I didn’t expect it to still be there after flying 3,000 kilometers. But I can’t tell if it was outside the window or in the gap between the windows,” Guo added.

The video of this incident quickly went viral, sparking lively discussions among netizens. Many made jokes, saying things like, “Surviving from ancient times is not an exaggeration,” “I wonder if it gets airsick,” “This is shamelessly evading paying the fare,” “I always thought hanging onto the outside of an airplane was only in movies,” and “Did it buy a ticket?” Some expressed concerns, asking, “How did it manage to get into the gap between the window panes?” and “If it can damage glass, what about the delicate components inside the plane?”

However, some speculated that the airplane window consists of an outer layer, middle layer, and inner layer of glass, with vents that allow the three layers and the cabin’s pressure to remain balanced. They believe that the cockroach was most likely in the middle layer, not the outermost layer, and survived by regulating the air pressure through the vents. Otherwise, it would have died long ago.

When contacted by journalists from Jímù News on the 18th, representatives of the airline operating the flight stated that the cockroach was located between the exterior surface of the windshield and the interior lining. It was likely that the insect crawled into the window glass along with luggage or cargo after boarding the aircraft.

On the other hand, regarding the hygiene and flight safety concerns raised by this incident, airline officials stated that they would take the matter seriously. They will conduct further investigations into the cleanliness of the aircraft and take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers during flights.

Currently, the airline has inspected the aircraft and confirmed that the windshield is undamaged and defect-free, posing no impact on flight safety. They also assured passengers that regular disinfection of the aircraft cabin will be carried out.