Aw, Crap! Couple On Ground Pelted With Falling Poo from Plane Overhead

Well, ew.

In my last post, I wrote a little bit about lavatory malfunctions and how they can delay flights.  But this takes “lavatory malfunction” to a new level.

A Long Island couple saw a strange substance coming down while they were enjoying some cocktails and plane spotting in their backyard.  Soon, they were plastered by this “blackish-greenish oil.”

Except, it wasn’t oil.  It was poo.

flush toilet

According to CBS’s NYC local affiliate:

“Some black liquid, black oil came off on her face, and I walked around and I looked and said ‘Oh my God.’ There was quarter-sized, nickel-sized, dime-sized drops all over my deck, my barbecue, my table,†he said.

I found this article while fact checking a statement I made about lavatory FAA regulations.  I got more than I bargained for,

But this couple got much more than they bargained for when enjoying the outdoor weather.

This particular situation was unusual.  Usually it isn’t the poo that leaks when the plane is malfunctioning.  Usually, it’s the #1 in the form of blue ice.

According to a Slate article on the important subject:

Waste can seep out of the tanks in a malfunctioning aircraft. This happens when a sewage tank or drain tube develops a leak, usually resulting in what air travel experts refer to as “blue iceâ€â€”which is what you get when the blue waste treatment liquid from a plane toilet is exposed to freezing temperatures at high altitude.

This “blue ice” is what hit a British couple and covered their home:

A lump of blue frozen waste smashed into the roof of the house covering the couple in tile debris and lumps of the icy substance.

Andy described the waste as smelling very strongly, with a particularly pungent whiff of urine as it began to thaw and break up.

This situation was particularly concerning to the FAA because it didn’t involve this blue ice.  Somehow, actual poo leaked out of the plane.

From the Huffington Post:

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told Newsday that an investigation would start Monday by taking a sample of the alleged poo. “This is very rare. More often we get reports of ‘blue ice’ falling in people’s backyardsâ€â€”which come from a plane’s bathroom holding tank, she told the paper.

What do you even say after this happens?  You are enjoying a nice cocktail with your wife, and suddenly, she has airplane poop on her face.

Is this one of those things you just don’t mention?

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

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