A gross scene unfolded on an American Airlines regional jet operated by the carrier’s wholly owned subsidiary, PSA Airlines, on Saturday, as toilet water from an overflowing lavatory started to flow all the way through the cabin as people were sitting in their seats waiting for takeoff.
The 15-year-old CRJ regional jet was preparing for departure as flight AA-5527 on April 25 from Wichita (ICT) to Washington National (DCA), but as the plane was preparing for departure, the onboard toilet malfunctioned, and water started to leak down the aisle of the plane.
Oh boy, here it comes! ICT to DCA toilet overflow at the gate.
by u/LaddieNowAddie in aviation
Reddit user ‘LaddieNowAddie‘ captured the disgusting moment the dirty water nearly reached all the way down the aircraft cabin, captioning the photo: “Oh boy, here it comes!”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the passengers were eventually deplaned and the aircraft removed from service so that the toilet could be fixed.
It isn’t, however, getting this plane back in action isn’t just a case of fixing the toilet and quickly cleaning the carpet. In fact, the aircraft could be out of action for many days so that it can be made presentable again.
An engineer working for PSA Airlines explained in the same Reddit post that the aircraft had been ferried without any passengers on board to the carrier’s hub in Cincinatti where technicians spent eight hours stripping out the soiled carpets, removing floor boards, and other panels in order to thoroughly clean the aircraft and identify the root cause.
“That aircraft won’t fly or leave CVG for many days until it’s cleaned, inspected, and deemed airworthy!” the engineer added.
Unlike many modern passenger planes, the CRJ regional jet still uses the infamous ‘blue juice’ chemical mix that is charged into the toilet system by ground personnel.
One engineer surmised that the leak at Wichita could have been caused by ground staff recharging the system with too much ‘blue juice,’ causing the system to overflow.
While the good news is that we have confirmation that the carpets on this aircraft will be replaced, this is probably a good reminder to everyone to never go barefoot on a plane, and to always wear closed footwear to the bathroom!
