Flatulence leads to flight diversion
It’s not legal to light matches on a plane even if the object is to cover up a bad smell, an American Airlines passenger found.
An American Airlines flight carrying 99 passengers had to make an emergency landing in Nashville after passengers reported a strange scent that smelled like struck matches. All 99 passengers and five crew were taken off the plane and screened while the plane was searched.
After being questioned by FBI officers, a Dallas woman on the flight “admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal body odor,” writes The Tennessean. The woman apparently “had been striking matches to mask evidence of a troubled digestive system.”
The Washington Ronald Reagan National-to-Dallas/Fort Worth flight eventually took off again, but the woman was not on board. “American has banned her for a long time,” said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority.
No charges were filed against the woman. Though it is illegal to strike a match in an airplane, it is perfectly legal to carry them, as long as they stay unlit.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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