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Nasty “Dirty Sock” Smell Grounds Spirit Flight

On Thursday of last week, a Spirit Airlines flight from New York to Florida was forced to divert to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina after a strong smell reminiscent of dirty socks and burning plastic caused pain and discomfort to the flight’s passengers.

According to Florida station WPLG, at least one woman aboard the flight passed out, and several minors vomited due to the strong odor.

To read more on this story, go to Tampa Bay Times.

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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5 Comments
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Great_circle August 3, 2018

I had this unpleasant smell a number of times (without socks to be seen anywhere) once on a 747, once on a 767 and multiple times on a A319/A320/A321. Albeit not as severe as described in the article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricresyl_phosphate

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AS737 August 2, 2018

A "dirty sock" smell on an aircraft is actually indicative of a potentially toxic oil leak inside of the bleed air system. That's not to be taken lightly https://ijr.com/2016/11/741443-if-the-inside-of-an-airplane-smells-like-dirty-socks-heres-what-it-means/

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seigex August 2, 2018

The "Dirty Sock" smell is associated with dangerous fume events related to bleed are being pushed in to the cabin along with aerosolized oil or hydraulic fluid. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/airline-workers-warn-of-dangerous-fumes-onboard It makes sense that they diverted.

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strickerj August 2, 2018

I imagine the possibility of something burning was more of a concern than just the smell being unpleasant.

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pwd847 August 1, 2018

Glad I wasn't on that flight. Grounding a plane because of some smell is the second most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. The most ridiculous thing is that a lady passed out from it.