No, Internet: A Fart Did Not Cause an American Airlines Flight to Be Evacuated
Passengers complaining of bad odors results in early reports of noxious human flatulence
July 17, 2017
An American Airlines flight was evacuated on Sunday and deplaning passengers complained of headache and nausea-inducing foul odors. Initial reports indicated human flatulence may have caused the disturbance, but now the airline is whistling a different tune.
American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein released a statement on Monday, attributing Flight 1927’s onboard smells and subsequent evacuation at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to mechanical issues—not farts, as had been previously reported.
“[The plane] is currently out of service for an actual mechanical issue – and odor in the cabin. But it is not due to ‘passed gas’ as mentioned,” he told USA Today, adding “the medical call for persons affected by an odor came in after the plane deplaned.”
Feinstein’s statement directly contradicted those included in an earlier report by North Carolina’s WNCN-TV, however, which quoted an unnamed airline official as saying “passed gas” had forced passengers off the flight.
