A United Airlines passenger’s explosive lavatory episode cancelled their flight, sparked a hazmat response, and became a viral confession.
Nanny and aspiring actress Meghan Reinertsen was flying Lisbon – Newark – Indianapolis when she had an incident she described as “giving birth from the wrong end” that ended with a hazmat crew, canceled flight, and a video that can’t be unseen by the 20 million who’ve watched it.
The trouble started during her connection in Newark. Faint, drenched in sweat, doubled over from cramps, she pushed through customs and boarding without stopping. She made it to her seat, the seatbelt sign still on, and almost immediately realized she wasn’t going to make it. She sprinted to the lavatory — and stayed there for the entire two-hour flight from Newark to Indianapolis.
For the next 20 minutes, I have more diarrhea than any human should have in their life. I’m full-body sweating, I’m crying, my insides are cramping.
By the end, she says every passenger knew it was bad. The pilot expressly allowed her to remain in the lavatory for landing.
@meghanreinertsen Part 1 of how I personally got a United flight cancelled #storytime #airplane #diarrhea @United Airlines ♬ original sound – Meghan Reinertsen
Once on the ground, it wasn’t a quick cleanup. There was a full hazmat response, with crews in protective suits treating the cabin. The airline canceled the next flight for a deep clean.
People who claim to have seen the mess in forums and social media paint an even worse picture. One commenter reports there was “doo-doo… FECES!!! … on the WALLS.” It’s unclear if that’s true but the ground reaction suggests the magnitude of the mess may have been that bad.
Of course this is reminiscent of Delta’s now-infamous “brown trail” diarrhea diversion.
How, just how?
Footage shows aftermath of Delta passenger's horrific bout of diarrhea that forced Barcelona-bound flight with 336 passengers to return to Atlanta because it caused 'biohazard issue' pic.twitter.com/XOHZKfZ3G6
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) September 6, 2023
A Delta Airlines Airbus A350 turned around back to Atlanta Friday night because of diarrhea throughout the airplane from a passenger and it’s a biohazard.
The FAA flight strip for DL194 was posted to Reddit (xStang05x) Also a passenger posted here asking why her son’s… pic.twitter.com/VWbkB47wF1
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 3, 2023
Reinertsen’s TikTok has been called everything from brave to overshare of the year. She dubbed herself “patient zero” and offered a public apology:
I single-handedly got a flight out of Indianapolis cancelled… If that flight cancellation changed the trajectory of your life in a really negative way, I’m so sorry.
She blames an undercooked burger in Portugal for the incident, but the biohazard reaction suggests a response to the risk of norovirus. After the flight she received a wheelchair escort to baggage claim. But she made it to her evening event in Indianapolis (!), though the nightmare repeated itself at her hotel that night.
Salmonella Poisoning. Been there done that, at a hotel not on a flight.
Be careful of meals in Europe.
Norovirus is no joke. Both ends. Dehydration is a real risk. And if it happens on a flight, a lot of others are gonna get it. How absurd that we are vilifying vaccines because we should have one for this illness by now. Should be mandatory to have vaccine for this to get on a plane or cruise. If you’ve had it before, not mere food poisoning, you’d know.
@jns — Less a ‘Europe’ thing, and more of a ‘it can happen anywhere’ thing…
An argument in favor of fasting before flying, particularly for longer trips.
How does it end of up on the walls? United should still put her on the no-fly list.
This story stinks.
I don’t think it was the norovirus. Mentioned for cleaning in story, but symptoms don’t track exactly. Plus going out later ( ugh) she would have caused an epidemic.
@Maryland — Perhaps it was just alcoholism… *sigh*
My heart breaks for this poor soul. Never happened to me on a flight, but I’m sure many among us have been victims of this horrible thing be it noro virus or food poisoning. . It can happen with food anywhere, and one of my worst memories is when I worked in a mall, got off work, and ate a piece of cheesecake I did not know was the display piece having sat out at room temp for a day. I was in the middle of the mall when I consumed it, walked to the other anchor store and needed the restroom asap. I never thought I’d be able to leave and would be locked in for the night let alone make it all the way back to the other anchor store where my car was. The hazmat response was appropriate here, and I hope the victim is feeling better by now. Don’t know why there was no apparent medical response to help her…she must have been exhausted and weak and dehydrated…
Disgusting. The rest of us lowly cash-paying passengers are highly observed to be not boarding drunk, not seat squatting, wearing the covid mask during covid times, not using the toilet near the cockpit too much, not sassing back to the trolley dolly, etc. Yet, an aspiring actress and biohazard is freely allowed by the UA DEI captain and his/her FA minions to inflict pain and severe illness on everyone onboard. Disgusting.
and because of what? one person’s selfishness to get on a sealed, closed, and captive environment, knowing full well a blow-out was imminent. it’s truly awful how people will get on a plane, very sick, just because they want to get where they are going, in considerate of the other 200 people on board.
Is she available for a date?
Sounds delightful next to suffocating from tear gas
So so sad
@Alex — Apparently, you’ve never experienced ‘vomiting’ because rarely is it something you ‘know’ in-advance or can ‘control.’ That said, I agree that I wish our fellow passengers would wear masks if they have a contagious respiratory illness… alas, their ‘freedumbs’ outweigh our health.
I almost always know when I am going to vomit so I prepare for it. I have seen others do the same thing. I have also seen even others who don’t know until the last seconds. I rarely vomit these days because I no longer drink a lot any more.
Why the hell would you get on a plane in that condition?
@jns — So you’d vote this was alcohol-related, then. Wow, ‘always,’ huh? Well, ‘they’ should study you. An interesting ‘specimen’! Better question, can you ‘control’ it? Like, projectile, when you want; buckle down, when you don’t…
I had something like this LAX LHR in AA F back when they cooked eggs to order in the galley.(Pre 9/11). Next four hours I lay on the cold marble floor of the Admiral’s Club, praying to pass out or die. Somehow I recovered enough to make my connections to FCO. THANKFULLY no HazMat needed yet have never forgotten it. Guessing a fresh egg with a crack was the culprit.
@Robert,
Food poisoning isn’t that fast. It wasn’t the eggs. Track back 6-12 hours. Besides, AA FA’s, as wonderful as they were, usually overcooked the eggs.
This poor gal DID suffer from food poisoning. Its symptoms are exactly what she described. It’s no fun, for anyone. @Gary sure loves his feet, poop, or any bodily function stories.