The Air France flight from Paris to Rio de Janeiro was almost at its destination when pilots had to divert after one of the Boeing 777’s toilets was reportedly clogged by a passenger
Pilots for an Air France flight were forced to make an emergency landing in Brazil after a passenger is said to have clogged the toilet.
The Boeing 777 had to make an unscheduled landing while on route to its destination from Paris. The jet wasn’t far from its destination of Rio de Janeiro when it had to divert to Pinto Martins International Airport in Fortaleza.
Fraport, which manages the Brazilian airport, said Flight AF 484 had to make the stop due to a QTU (Quick Toilet Unit) on board needing to be serviced and cleared of sanitary waste. Brazilian media reports the incident was caused by a passenger who had caused the toilet to be unusable, although did not provide further details.
Air France has not yet commented on the incident and despite the delay, the flight was able to continue to Rio without any major incident after the toilet was serviced and unclogged.
It comes after passengers on an Etihad Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Abu Dhabi were left “terrified” when their plane was forced to abort a high-speed take off with just seconds to spare. the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner came to an abrupt stop on the runway after the pilot noticed something was wrong.
Two of the plane’s tyres were shredded as the pilots aborted the take off and one of the airport’s runways was taken out of action for more than 12 hours. Eithad flight EY461 was due to leave Melbourne at around 7pm local time on Sunday night with 289 passengers on board.
However, the pilot reportedly spotted a warning light and aborted the take off with just seconds to spare. An air traffic control recording heard reports of “some problem with the gear”. One passenger, Ohad Shemtov, told nine.com.au that it was “the most terrifying moment in my life”, adding that: “We were sure we were about to die.”
Passengers were left stranded on the plane as the burst tyres meant it could not be towed away or return to a fate. One passenger, who gave his name only as Alan, said: “Why for an emergency stop does it take you 2.5 hours to get off a plane? When they knew the tyres were knackered.”
A spokesperson said in a statement: “The aircraft was safely brought to a stop on the runway and emergency services attended as a precaution. Guests have been disembarked safely and our teams are working to enable them to continue their onward journeys as quickly as possible. Etihad Airways sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused. The safety and comfort of our guests and crew remain our highest priority. Etihad said applying foam to the tyres was “a routine precaution following a high-speed rejected take-off”.
