Landing in the Loo Loo Land
 

Anyone ever experienced a passenger running for the lavatory about 3 to 5 minutes before the touch down, flight attendants allowing the passenger to use the lavatory, but ordering the passenger to stay in for the landing and the taxi to the gate? :eek:

Just once a few years ago. I don't recall much about it other than them yelling at him to stay seated but he was up and in the lavatory in a heartbeat. They yelled at him to hold on and to stay there until we landed and had come to a stop. Once we landed and were at the gate they kind of corralled the guy in one of the galleys and were fussy at him but I didn't stick around to see if any authorities showed up.

Except for the part of staying locked in the lavatory, yes. "It's at your own risk" comes to mind, but it worked out each and every time I've seen it.

remember the days of when it was prohibited to use the restroom within 30 mins of WAS? :)

I was working in DC post 9/11 and was flying a lot in and out of DCA and clearly remember those days. :)

Yes. Basically meant no bathroom use on my DCA-NYC/NYC-DCA flights. Within a few days of DCA re-opening I had the unfortunate incident on one of my commutes back to DC of getting hit by a bout of food poisoning from an earlier flight. Going to the bathroom to vomit wasn't an option. And so onto the floor it went. The FAs did bring a bunch of newspapers to plaster the floor, but welcome to the alternative of permitting bathroom access when necessary.

sheez, they are lucky 1) you didn't set off an entire bout of sympathetic/copycat barfing from other pax and 2) lucky for them your elimination was not from the other end of the digestive tract

It is relatively safe to hide in the lav at low altitude.

It is not safe at high altitude ever since they took the oxygen masks out of the lavs. If you are in the lav and there is a sudden depressurization, you are toast. :(

Depressurization at altitude may incapacitate a person fairly quickly but will not cause death in most cases unless the aircraft remains at altitude for some time. Procedure calls for a rapid decent to a safe altitude so even without oxygen most people will be fine a few minutes after getting to a lower altitude.

That's why they have a barf bag in every seatback pocket.

Unless I was the pax in that seat the last segment.

Those bags are useful for so many things. :D

It's at the other end of the flight, but I've never gotten people who have just spent an hour or more in the airport having to use the lav on the plane as soon as they board. Think ahead much?

They don't -- even as they should -- and they didn't. And given the duration of the flight and the FAs' positioning and activity when the "urge"' hit, they only seemed to become very responsive once it became clear they were dealing with an awful mess on the floor. And even then they weren't all that sympathetic, and just handed into my row a bunch of newspapers to place on the floor and nothing more and not even a word beyond that.

Could I have made a dash to the bathroom in time and made it to vomit in the toilet there? Not all that certain, but perhaps. I am more certain that I would have had a FAM type on my backside if I had tried that.

If I have been stuffing my face with food and drinks in the lounge 30 minutes before boarding, I might not feel the need to go until 20 minutes after takeoff.

If you mean before takeoff, how do you know what those pax were doing for the past hour? Maybe they were on a crowded train and then waited in a security line after which they went straight to the gate.


Aren't the lavs locked on most planes once the FAs are seated for landing?

It varies, but they seem more likely to be locked at take-off than at landing IME. But with my keys in my pocket, they are easy enough to open on some planes at least.

:D

They are indeed!

Some carriers ask for those bags to be used to dispose of soiled diapers in the lavatories. So they really aren't all there just for barfing up things. :D

Yes, ~2 times in 4.6 million miles of flying....

I would think it would be safer for the passenger to stay in there than to try to return to their seat at that point. You won't go flying nearly as far if there's a sudden stop and they most likely will be seated anyway.

It's against FAA regs to not be seated and buckled in. There's no belts in the lavs, so they should have told the pilots and a go-around done if close to landing. I've had it happen on a flight. I've also had as described on a China Eastern flight. The FAs didn't care and didn't say anything. They just let it happen.

I am well aware of the FAA regs in this regard, but that doesn't really change what happens/is observed on planes -- yes, even US carriers -- from time to time.

At the last minutes of descent, an FA telling the pilots so as to prompt pilot/plane to do a last-minute go-around sounds like a more extreme -- and perhaps way more risk-inducing approach -- than doing nothing other than to make a verbal admonishment/warning directed at the passengers disregarding a seatbelt rule.

wrong forum

You must be among those who are blessed with an iron stomach and have never had a UTI. And judging from your screen name, you're a man. So, here's a handy list of reasons someone might have to use the lav as soon as they board -- none of which can be planned ahead:

* Sudden urge to urinate, including because of a UTI or enlarged prostate
* Sudden need to defecate, including diarrhea
* Vomiting caused by a tender tummy, food poisoning, pregnancy or other issues
* The onset of one's menstrual cycle
* The immediate need to empty one's ostamy bag
* The need to wash one's hands
* The need for tissues to stem a bloody nose

Add to that:
* Just got off a previous flight and had to run to make a connection, all while in need of the bathroom

This one I get.
But if you just spent an hour next to a washroom, even with a medical problem - *especially* with a medical problem - wouldn't you relieve yourself before boarding?And yes I was referring to passengers who walk on the plane, stow their bags, and head immediately to the head. Only that. 10 or 20 minutes later? How's that curious?

First stress can stress sudden urge.
Then travelling with younger kids.
Happened to me a few times. Travelling with a 5 year old son.

Was told " NO he cant use the bathroom and NO he cant "pee" in his pants either'.
Figure that one out.

Really? FA said that?
That's just lame.

Seen such things happen before.

Worse than that was the time where that kind of thing was said by the very FA who prohibited one very young kid with his dad from using the forward lav in a single-aisle flight where the back lav was blocked even as the same FA didn't prohibit a somewhat bigger kid with a mom from using the same forward lav. And it had nothing to do with pilots using the forward lav.

Seriously? You've never had diarrhea, thought your intestines were empty and then found yourself racing to the bathroom five minutes later? You've never had a UTI that leaves you with the uncontrollable urge to pee every five minutes? You've never found yourself vomiting and then realize you have to vomit again five minutes later?

If the answer to those questions is no, then consider yourself very very very very lucky. Do you really think anyone intentionally wants to find themselves rushing to the bathroom every five minutes? Bodily functions are often outside of one's own control.