A transatlantic Delta Air Lines flight was forced to turnaround partway through its journey after a passenger had what can only be described as a doodie disaster. Specifically, they were said by the pilots in a transmission to air traffic control to have had “diarrhea all the way through the airplane.”
Business Insider reports that Delta flight 194 from Atlanta, GA to Barcelona, Spain departed two hours late on Friday night. After about two more hours in the air however, the plane executed a turnaround over Virginia, with pilots reporting a “biohazard” situation. Or, as they put it in a radio transmission recorded on LiveATC.com, “we’ve had a passenger who’s had diarrhea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta.”
One of the photos in the tweet above, which came from Reddit, indicates there was “passenger diarrhea all over A/C” in what appears to be an CPDLC dispatch slip. (A/C is common industry shorthand for “aircraft,” and does not refer to seating or air conditioning.) The incident is reportedly believed to have stemmed from a medical condition, rather than an act of mischief.
The flight landed successfully in Atlanta, where it reportedly spent another few hours on the ground before taking off again. In all, the flight arrived eight hours later than scheduled. The same aircraft was reportedly used for the second flight, indicating the cleanup was successful.
“Delta flight 194 from Atlanta to Barcelona returned to Atlanta following an onboard medical issue,” a Delta spokesperson reportedly stated. “Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
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