DataPlumber

Maybe your seat mate had a colostomy and was having issues with the bag? In any event you lived to tell about it and if it didn’t kill you- maybe it will make you stronger.

FlytheTail

Maybe it was this guy returning from Anchorage?
Passenger 'smearing feces everywhere' diverts United flight

sfolawyer

Sorry to say I have experienced this with a relative so it might well be possible. Unfortunate for all and very embarrassing for the patient.

superEGO

Maybe two yearsish ago, I was in 2B on a ... I dunno, let's call it an a320... And Mr. 1B showed up.

Very quickly, Mrs. Ego and I shared glances.. along with 2E (or was it 2C at the time.. Hmm.. either way, across the aisle).. and the FA up front.

It was clear that said gentleman had a serious BO issue... rancidly so.... The FA noticed all of our faces, and approached to express shared sentiments without stating directly as much.

Shortly thereafter, after boarding had essentially completed, a larger (ie, physical presence) UA service rep (who had not previously been around) boarded, chatted briefly with the FA, and then asked 1B to accompany him for a chat into the jet bridge.

I'm not sure what all was said.. but I heard elevated voices including expressions such as "I've never been so insulted in my life". Mr 1B reboarded, sat in a compact little ball without lifting his arms or even moving really for the next two hours.

It was tolerable, but not pleasant.

hughw

All you out-of-towners probably have a pretty negative view of not only EWR, but the New York City subways. As someone who rides the subway every day, it's actually pretty clean (and safe) and the biggest issues are over-crowding at rush hour and delays. And over the years, there have been fewer and fewer pan handlers and such. But yesterday, a giant Paul Bunyan type character walked through our car with a blanket wrapped around him, feet tied up in various fabrics. The stench (feces? necrotic tissue? BO?) was something that went beyond whatever I've experienced. Everyone was covering their faces with their scarves (to no avail). He left the car at the next station but the smell lingered heavily until I detrained about five stations later. To imagine someone like this in a metal tube for hours is beyond comprehension.

dvs7310

I had a similar issue on a 737-900 recently. There was something in the carpet at seat 1F which had a really odd, foul smell. I unfortunately didn't know the smell was coming from a liquid in the carpet until nearly the end of the flight. I had sat my laptop bag in the corner while I worked inflight and when I went to put it away I found it was wet with the foul smelling liquid. Still no clue what it was, took a lot of work to get the smell out of the fabric in my bag, to the point I nearly wanted to throw it away and get a new one. Sent it to 1K voice the same day, not sure if they forwarded it on though for cleaning. Could be the same aircraft?

eng3

Were you on a 737 where the lav is just behind the F cabin? Maybe someone left the door open.
Or maybe someone in row 7 brought some stinky tofu for lunch.

transportprof

My original flight that led me to start this thread was on an A320. I used the lav in F, right behind the cockpit, and it actually smelled better in there than it did in the cabin, at least when the stench was "on". The strangest part was the intermittence. It would come up for 15 - 30 minutes and just when I thought I was going to ralph, it would fade away. Then it would come back 20 minutes later.

Phil Level

I had one for 2 months, and I think everyone who has ever had one has experienced some difficulty learning how to affix it properly so it doesn't leak.
That said, the smell from a leaking bag is usually a very familiar smell, so I'm thinking, based on OP's description, that this is not likely the cause.