A giant rabbit, believed to be the world’s largest, died on a transatlantic United Airlines flight. Simon, a 10-month-old continental giant rabbit who was 3 ft long, was found dead with the cargo on Wednesday after the flight from London, United Kingdom, landed in Chicago, United States, BBC reported.

The airline, which has been facing weeks of bad publicity because of its poor customer service choices, said it was investigating Simon’s death. “We were saddened to hear this news. The safety and well-being of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team,” a spokesperson said, adding that they had offered assistance to the customer.

The latest figures from the US Department of Transportation show that 35 animal deaths in transit were reported in 17 US airlines, 14 of which were in United’s flights. Nine other animals were reported injured in the carrier’s planes during that period. The figures are from 2015 but were released in February.

Simon was expected to grow to be the world’s largest rabbit after his father Darius (pictured above) grew to 4 ft 4 in, a breeder from Worcestershire Annette Edwards told The Sun. Edwards added that Simon was healthy when he was placed in the cargo hold and that its “very famous” owner was upset. “Something very strange has happened, and I want to know what. I have sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before,” she said.