A long-haul American Airlines flight turned into a high-altitude rush to the bathroom on Tuesday. The Madrid-Dallas trip was diverted to New York’s JFK Airport after all but two of the Boeing 777’s lavatories became out of service, leaving 287 people on board with limited options mid-flight, CNN reports. The pilot radioed that only “two pots” were working and declared a “pan-pan”, signaling an urgent but not life-threatening problem.
Because the plane had more than four hours of fuel left, it landed overweight, a situation that can put a strain on the brakes. The plane landed safely, however, then spent more than three hours on the ground before continuing to Dallas, according to FlightAware data. Cornwall Live notes that planes generally try to have toilets for every 50 passengers, meaning that on this plane there was on average one working bathroom for around 140 passengers.
American Airlines had no comment as of Wednesday morning; an FAA incident/accident notice indicates to contact the airline for more information. Aviation experts say blocked or faulty air pressure systems can take days to repair due to the maze of pipes involved.
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