NEW YORK — News that a dog died aboard a United Airlines flight on Monday has renewed interest in the airline’s track record of safely transporting animals.

According to data from the Department of Transportation, United Airlines had the highest number of animal deaths and injuries for any U.S. carrier in 2017. The data pertain only to pets that flew with the airline’s PetSafe cargo program, so it does not relate to the incident Monday in which a dog died after a passenger was reportedly forced to put her pet in its carrier in the overhead bin during a flight from Houston to New York. Pets that fly in-cabin are typically meant to be stowed underneath the seat in front of the owner.

The airline issued a statement Tuesday saying it took full responsibility for the “tragic accident” and said it was conducting a full investigation. But United spokesperson Charlie Hobart said medical experts indicate that an overwhelming number of deaths amid pets who flew in the cargo area last year were due to things beyond the airline’s control, such as preexisting medical conditions.

“Any time there’s a death or an incident, United does a thorough review,” Hobart said. “We reach out to the customer, offer our support and condolences, and we work to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

About a year ago, United was criticized after a giant bunny, which was expected to be named the world’s largest rabbit, died in its cargo area.

The Transportation Department numbers indicate how United shapes up with its competitors ― and the comparison doesn’t look good. The airline flew the most pets of any airline in 2017 through the PetSafe cargo program ― 138,178. Eighteen pets died and 13 suffered injuries. Clearly the vast majority of animals that flew reached their destinations without incident.

One might think that more pets flown would inevitably translate into a higher number of animal deaths. However, the rate of pet deaths on United Airlines was also more than double that of the airline with the second highest frequency of pet fatalities, American Airlines. The same report from years past indicated that United also had the highest number of pet deaths in 2016 and 2015.

Source: HuffPost