Animals - Aquariums - Archeology - Insects - Fossils - Zoos

Jul. 07, 1966 - Lions Loose In Plane: A pilot with an axe fought off two snarling lions which were invading the flight deck of his plane. It was the longest seven minutes of my life, said Max Schomen-Berger, 25. The lions, Percy and Olaf, with three months old cub Little Sheba - being flown from Frankfurt to London, broke from their cage. Captain Paul Wuhrman, 36, of Zurich, suddently heard a sniffing and turned to see a lion's wide-open mouth behind him. Captain Wuhrman radioed Brussels for permission to make an emergency landing at Brussels. As the plane headed for the airport, co-pilot Max kept jabbing at the angry lions with an axe he grabbed. On the ground, the pilots so ambled from the cockpit window, and Dutch-born zoologists, Dr. Agatha Gyzen was summoned to the scene. She opened the fuselage door, and grabbed the sub Little Sheba by the scruff of the neck. Then she persuaded Percy and Olaf to come quietly - with the aid of a broomstick. Photo shows Dr. Agatha Gyzen holding little Sheba - at Brussels airport

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Agatha Broke Broomstick Co-pilot Cockpit Dutch-born Flown Fought Fuselage Grabbed Heard Invading Jabbing Kept Longest Loose Minutes Olaf Percy Permission Persuaded Quietly Radioed Scruff Sheba Snarling Sniffing Summoned Zoologists Zurich

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