Photo:Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty
Air travel often comes with some stress and inconvenience, such as flight delays, cramped seats or noisy neighbors.
But this year saw a handful of stories that would rattle even the most seasoned flyer. Here are some of the most shocking incidents that occurred on airplanes in 2023.
A toddler cries on an airplane.Robert Alexander/Getty
Robert Alexander/Getty
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Flight Diverts After Passenger Suffers Severe Case of Diarrhea
A Delta flight from Atlanta to Barcelona made national news in September afterit was diverted due to a passenger’s case of severe diarrhea.
In a clip from an emergency call to dispatchers shared on social media, the pilot called the incident “a biohazard issue,” adding, “You know, we’ve had a passenger who had diarrhea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta.”
“My partner was on that flight!” a user commented on X. “It was pretty bad. It was dribbled down the aisle, smelled horrible. The vanilla-scented disinfectant used on it only made it smell like vanilla s—. After the plane landed, it was thoroughly cleaned.”
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.Chris Graythen/Getty
Chris Graythen/Getty
Passenger Opens Emergency Exit and Climbs onto Plane Wing
ASouthwest Airlinespassengeropened the aircraft’s emergency exitand climbed onto the wing of the plane before jumping to the ground in November. The aircraft was still stationed at its gate at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport before takeoff when the incident occurred.
The 38-year-old man was taken to a local hospital after deputies noticed he was “incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings,” stated a press release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. As the passenger’s behavior appeared to be the result of a “mental health emergency,” he was not arrested or criminally charged.
An Air France airlines Boeing 777.Aaron P/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty
Aaron P/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty
Passenger Discovers Floor Under His Seat Soaked with Blood
Journalist Habib Battah was traveling from Paris to Toronto in June when he discovered the floor under his and his wife’s seatswas soaked in blood.
A flight attendant handed him wet wipes when he asked for assistance.
“I started wiping and it was red — blood red,” hetold CNN.“And it kept coming up red. I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ I just wanted to see what it was. After a while, one of the flight attendants said, ‘You’d better go wash your hands, and here are some gloves.’”
When the pilot contacted Paris, Air France HQ replied that the blood came from a human. The previous day, on a flight from Paris to Boston, a man had experienced what Battah says the crew referred to as a “hemorrhage." The pilot had asked that the area be sanitized, but the cleaners overlooked the floor.
Southwest jet aircraft departing Orlando International Airport.Getty
Passenger Faces Federal Charges for Allegedly Grabbing Flight Attendants and Demanding a Kiss
In October 2022, a man allegedlygrabbed two flight attendantsand tried to kiss them on a Southwest flight from Palm Springs to Las Vegas.
A Southwest Airlines airplane.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Woman Kicked Off Flight for Petting Newly Adopted Dog
A woman waskicked offa Southwestflightfor petting her newly adopted puppy in October, and a fellow passenger spoke out about the incident.
Sara Price posted a videoon TikTokshowing the puppy’s owner being removed from their flight out of Colorado Springs after multiple run-ins with flight attendants.
Price told PEOPLE that the woman’s puppy “whined a little” when “the lady from Southwest checking boarding passes came flying over and said ‘if you can’t keep that dog quiet, you may not be able to fly.’”
While the woman held the carrier on her lap, petting the puppy to soothe the animal, Price said the same flight attendant instructed, “That carrier has to be zipped all the way, and the dog has to be under the seat.”
After the plane pushed off from the gate, the dog whined again, so the woman “[bent] down to pet the puppy again from outside the carrier,” Price explained. The plane returned to the gate and upon arrival, “the attendants walked up to her and asked her to leave the plane.”
An American Airlines plane.Getty
Getty
Plane Drops 15,000 Feet In 3 Minutes
An American Airlines flightdropped over 15,000 feetIn three minutes in August, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Flight 5916, headed from Charlotte to Gainesville, Fla. “landed safely,” the FAA said in astatement, noting that “the crew reported a possible pressurization issue.”
“Something failed mid-flight and depressurized the cabin," passenger and University of Florida professor Harrison Hove wroteon X. “The burning smell can apparently be attributed to using the oxygen canisters. The wing flaps came out to immediately lower our altitude so there would be more oxygen. It was terrifying but turned out ok.”
A Lufthansa flight departing Frankfurt Airport.Getty Images
7 Hospitalized After Flight Experiencing ‘Severe Turbulence’ Made Emergency Landing
Seven Lufthansa passengerswere takento the hospital for injuries they experienced during their flight in March, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Lufthansa Flight 469 from Austin, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany had to be diverted to Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. after the flight crew reported “severe turbulence” while they were flying 37,000 feet altitude over Tennessee, the FAA told PEOPLE in a statement.
Matthew McConaughey, who was traveling with his wife,Camila Alves, lateropened upabout their experience on the terrifying flight.
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“It’s suspended disbelief. I mean, it’s zero gravity,” he said during an appearance on theLet’s Talk Off Camerapodcast in April.
source: people.com
