Sewage flows down aisles of trans-Atlantic flight
Jun 20, 2007, 5:29 pm
#46
Join Date: Dec 2004
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I guess a stuck flush-water supply valve could go unnoticed if none of the FA's happened to use that particular lav. I've never had it happen so I'm not sure if the water drains at some point or, if it doesn't, this could be what is being referred to as "sewage". In reality it would be fresh water that filled the basin then overflowed. At that point someone would certainly notice and shut off the supply.
Even with full waste tanks (never ran across this myself either) I can't think of any mechanism by which waste would come out of the basin (the whole pressure thing not to mention the valve in the basin drain).
Even with full waste tanks (never ran across this myself either) I can't think of any mechanism by which waste would come out of the basin (the whole pressure thing not to mention the valve in the basin drain).
Jun 20, 2007, 5:41 pm
#47
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One of the New Jersey talk radio stations had a good time with this story tonight.
Jun 20, 2007, 5:50 pm
#48
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This incident was the subject of today's FareCompare Weekly Newsletter:
FareCompare.com subscriber Catherine Carlozzi enjoyed a perfectly lovely vacation in Amsterdam earlier this month, and, expected a perfectly uneventful flight home. Unfortunately, Continental flight 71 to Newark was all too eventful: It was dirty, and it was disgusting.
And it smelled like hell, too.
The problem? Well, for starters, all the lavatories quit working. So the jet was diverted to Ireland's Shannon for repairs. The passengers sat in the plane, and waited. And waited and waited. Hours later, it was decided everyone would overnight there, while those malfunctioning toilets were taken care of.
But the next day (June 14), the sun was shining again: the toilets were fine, the passengers cheered, and the jet took off. But the cheering didn't last long! As soon as the plane got airborne, some of the toilets...overflowed. And they overflowed right out the lavatory doors and into the aisles. We are talking raw sewage here. Stinking, liquid sewage. One woman had the misfortune of seeing this mess ooze right up to her sandal clad feet. Ultimately, only two of the toilets could still be used, and they had to be used VERY gently. Let's put it this way: passengers told us they were asked not to use any toilet paper.
Meanwhile, some of the flight attendants did what they could to contain the seepage, but nothing seemed to work. Some of these flight attendants, by the way, wore plastic head coverings, gloves, and masks.
[. . .]
So did the survivors get a refund? Did they get any money back on this trip to hell? Well, no. But they did got a voucher, worth $115 toward a future Continental flight, a voucher Catherine isn't sure she'll ever use: "The thought of getting on a plane fills me with revulsion." Something else that fills her with revulsion is her failure to hear a direct apology from Continental.
[. . .]
Laurie Grossman who's feet touched the sewage . . . was offered a $500 voucher; the amount of the vouchers seems to vary from passenger to passenger. Why that was, Continental won't say.
Oh, and they finally figured out what the "foreign object" was, that clogged the system: latex gloves.
And it smelled like hell, too.
The problem? Well, for starters, all the lavatories quit working. So the jet was diverted to Ireland's Shannon for repairs. The passengers sat in the plane, and waited. And waited and waited. Hours later, it was decided everyone would overnight there, while those malfunctioning toilets were taken care of.
But the next day (June 14), the sun was shining again: the toilets were fine, the passengers cheered, and the jet took off. But the cheering didn't last long! As soon as the plane got airborne, some of the toilets...overflowed. And they overflowed right out the lavatory doors and into the aisles. We are talking raw sewage here. Stinking, liquid sewage. One woman had the misfortune of seeing this mess ooze right up to her sandal clad feet. Ultimately, only two of the toilets could still be used, and they had to be used VERY gently. Let's put it this way: passengers told us they were asked not to use any toilet paper.
Meanwhile, some of the flight attendants did what they could to contain the seepage, but nothing seemed to work. Some of these flight attendants, by the way, wore plastic head coverings, gloves, and masks.
[. . .]
So did the survivors get a refund? Did they get any money back on this trip to hell? Well, no. But they did got a voucher, worth $115 toward a future Continental flight, a voucher Catherine isn't sure she'll ever use: "The thought of getting on a plane fills me with revulsion." Something else that fills her with revulsion is her failure to hear a direct apology from Continental.
[. . .]
Laurie Grossman who's feet touched the sewage . . . was offered a $500 voucher; the amount of the vouchers seems to vary from passenger to passenger. Why that was, Continental won't say.
Oh, and they finally figured out what the "foreign object" was, that clogged the system: latex gloves.
Jun 20, 2007, 5:57 pm
#49
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CO deserves to be sued for millions. I can't understand why the plane wasn't turned right back around to SNN on the second day. It's just unacceptable not to divert to closest airport in that situation.
Jun 20, 2007, 6:06 pm
#50
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If what was in the aisles really was raw sewage, there are all sorts of possible public health issues to deal with here. I would recommend that everyone that was on that plane, if they have not already done so, immediately have blood work done to check for hepatitis and other blood-borne pathogens. Continental should get out in front of this one and take care of these passengers before they find themselves facing a massive class action law suit.
Given this incident, the one about the murder suspect, and the fact that a Continental airliner was intercepted recently by Israeli Air Force fighter jets, I think Continental needs to have a long, hard think about its emergency procedures, especially in regard to international flights.
Rule of thumb: it is usually better to do what is clearly right, than merely what you must do to comply with the law. Shame on Continental for all of these cock ups.
Given this incident, the one about the murder suspect, and the fact that a Continental airliner was intercepted recently by Israeli Air Force fighter jets, I think Continental needs to have a long, hard think about its emergency procedures, especially in regard to international flights.
Rule of thumb: it is usually better to do what is clearly right, than merely what you must do to comply with the law. Shame on Continental for all of these cock ups.
Last edited by jwlowry; Jun 20, 2007 at 6:07 pm Reason: fixed typo
Jun 20, 2007, 6:09 pm
#52
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Jun 20, 2007, 7:02 pm
#53
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If what was in the aisles really was raw sewage, there are all sorts of possible public health issues to deal with here. I would recommend that everyone that was on that plane, if they have not already done so, immediately have blood work done to check for hepatitis and other blood-borne pathogens. Continental should get out in front of this one and take care of these passengers before they find themselves facing a massive class action law suit.
Jun 20, 2007, 7:09 pm
#54
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Wouldn't the toilets have been full of that blue stuff that is in porto-potties? If so, my question is - does it still pose the same health risk as raw (untreated) sewage? I'm thinking not.
Jun 20, 2007, 7:15 pm
#55
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Please use proper terminology while trying to rile the masses into a lather. If you're looking for blood-borne pathogens then you need to have been exposed to blood, not sewage.The phrase you were looking for was fecal-oral transmission unless you expect people to have rubbed open wounds on the material.
It was mentioned in at least one article that there were people who had touched the sewage with their bare feet. Since most solid and some liquid fecal matter contain at least trace quantities of blood, what I envisioned instead was the possibility of someone with an open sore on their feet coming into contact with trace amounts of blood in the sewage. Remote possibility, perhaps, but I would not want to ignore such a possibility if I were one of those passengers.
Perhaps there is a public health professional on FT that can help clarify the risk here or both or perhaps additional scenarios?
Cheers and God bless you!!
Jun 20, 2007, 7:18 pm
#56
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Jun 20, 2007, 8:05 pm
#57
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I agree with this totally. I hope I'm wrong here but when airlines do stupid things like this that it has something to do with saving money (and it was, in my opinion, stupid not to turn back if indeed it was only two hours out)
Jun 20, 2007, 8:13 pm
#58
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I was discussing this incident with a colleague today. He had just returned from a trip to Italy and he flew AZ. Given all the negative things I have heard about AZ I was surprised. He said he flew AZ because on the return flight he wanted to be on an airline with lots of aircraft at the airport and so replacing an aircraft was an easy thing limiting delays. The reason CO took that flight in the air, even though the air craft was not fixed, probably was because with just a few flights into these european locations replacing an aircraft is not so easy. I've never had problems with CO aircraft delaying a return myself, so I figure this is to rare an event to fly AZ, but this is probably why CO took that flight in the air even though the toilets weren't fixed.
Jun 20, 2007, 8:26 pm
#59
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Jun 20, 2007, 8:28 pm
#60
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My opinion.....and it's just that
Well, from a medical standpoint...the treated wastewater had almost as many microbes as the pillow, the seat and the armrests...not to mention the personal TV units in BF. Another hyped story that misses the whole point. They can't report on real stuff (too boring)...they have to go for the "scary" stuff.
****OFF TOPIC
It's part of our litiginous society. If the bathroom overflowed while you were hosting a dinner party, what would you do? (a) cancel the party? (b) fix the problem? (c) make light of it? (d) offer $50 bucks to each offended guest?
What does everyone want...a 100% guarantee 100% of the time? Would you be willing to offer that in your own life?
*****RETURN TO TOPIC
Like anything to do with aviation...the more sensational the media can make it..they run with it.
If the media REALLY wanted to do us a favor...they'd find something frightfully dangerous and sensational about 17.2 inch wide seats with 31 and 32 inch pitches on flights over 30 minutes.
I can assure you ..as a physician...that more people were inconvenienced health wise by the seat pitch and the arm rests than the "raw sewage".
Final question.....How many people on that plane could pass a lie detector test stating that they washed their hands after going to the bathroom anyway?!?
****OFF TOPIC
It's part of our litiginous society. If the bathroom overflowed while you were hosting a dinner party, what would you do? (a) cancel the party? (b) fix the problem? (c) make light of it? (d) offer $50 bucks to each offended guest?
What does everyone want...a 100% guarantee 100% of the time? Would you be willing to offer that in your own life?
*****RETURN TO TOPIC
Like anything to do with aviation...the more sensational the media can make it..they run with it.
If the media REALLY wanted to do us a favor...they'd find something frightfully dangerous and sensational about 17.2 inch wide seats with 31 and 32 inch pitches on flights over 30 minutes.
I can assure you ..as a physician...that more people were inconvenienced health wise by the seat pitch and the arm rests than the "raw sewage".
Final question.....How many people on that plane could pass a lie detector test stating that they washed their hands after going to the bathroom anyway?!?