United Airlines is once again in hot water after a rabbit died aboard one of the airline's flight. The three-foot continental giant rabbit, named Simon, died in the cargo section of a Boeing 767 after flying out of Heathrow to be with his new celebrity owner in the U.S.
As per the exclusive report of The Sun, Annette Edwards, 65, breeder of Simon, asserted that the giant rabbit was perfectly fine, citing that he had a vet's check-up three hours before boarding the United Airlines flight. Edwards said the death of Simon is enigmatic.
"Something very strange has happened and I want to know what. I've sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before," she said.
Adding more mystery to the incident, the gentle giant was found dead as it landed at the same airport where the aviation police officials violently dragged off the infamous passenger David Dao --- at O'Hare. The video of the incident, which has left Dao with a concussion, a broken nose and two missing front teeth, was posted on social media and has earned United Airlines a bad reputation.
United Airlines told The Sun that they are already looking into Simon's death and fearing that another PR disaster might just cause the company to burn into ashes. Simon is not an ordinary continental rabbit, as he is slated to be the next world's biggest rabbit. As noted by USA Today, his father is Darius, who held the title of the world's biggest rabbit at 4ft 4in long.
The Guardian said the celebrity owner who is expected to sue United Airlines was very upset of what happened to Simon. The celebrity allegedly paid £2,000 to fly Simon plus £85 vet bill and £300 for Simon himself.
It was not determined yet why and how Simon died, but experts told National Geographic they suspect the animal's cause of death is because of stressful conditions during traveling. Continental giant rabbits are bred as pets. They act and are treated like dogs.