Fart forces airplane to land

CNN's headline reads Flatulence on plane sparks emergency landing:

It is considered polite to light a match after passing gas. Not while on a plane.

An American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday morning after a passenger lit a match to disguise the scent of flatulence, authorities said.

The Dallas-bound flight was diverted to Nashville after several passengers reported smelling burning sulfur from the matches, said Lynne Lowrance, spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority. All 99 passengers and five crew members were taken off and screened while the plane was searched and luggage was screened.

The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal a "body odor," Lowrance said. She had an unspecified medical condition, authorities said.

I've heard about someone who could clear a room but never someone who could make an airplane land. That is like high-fiving your friends bad.

What is the differential diagnosis for severe flatulence anyway? I guess lactose intolerance would be highest on the list, followed by sprue or some kind of malabsorption syndrome. This woman needs to see a doctor.

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She might just have had the farts. Be glad she didn't shit.

By Bert Bees (not verified) on 08 Dec 2008 #permalink

Was she wearing pantyhose ? A good fart in pantyhose can actually travel down the nylon bag, meet the feet, and suddenly be snapped upwards with the force of a hurricane, and when released by the excess pressure, rips the waistband of the garment and may decapitate the wearer.
Or, it can travel back up her butt-hole and make her skull explode.

By Pervis Smellbetter (not verified) on 08 Dec 2008 #permalink