OK guys, someone needs to fess up. . .

[capt. megadeth]

Why didn't you have it investigated as a hit-and-run? Police take that sort of thing very seriously, and the perp would be looking at a lot more than just an insurance claim...

Well, first off, I was very young at the time and I did not know any better. Secondly, I think the Chicago PD have much more to worry about than a hit and run on the highway esp. since noone was hurt.

 

[smellthejeta]

So how's the plumbing work on passenger jets? This obviously isn't the first time this has happened. Are there some kind of weak er,"dump" valves that occasionally "burp"? Did somebody not close the hole they suck the used blue stuff out of? Anybody?

I was instructing about two years ago. I was on a long ILS final and suddenly about a soup-ladle sized semi frozen bluish-brownish glob splattered on our windshield. I'm just glad it wasn't any bigger or frozen through, might have been too much for the 172's windshield.

There are a couple of different types. First and foremost, all lav service areas have a lav service panel, which is a door that is flush with the aircraft This door provides no seal. On turboprops and some smaller coroporate jets, after opening a presumably sealed "dust cap" you will find what is termed a "doughnut". This does provide a seal within the lav service pipe on the aircraft, and requires a special tool to remove. It's a royal pain to remove and replace. After removal, you have to hook up the hose and pull a handle to release the um, good stuff.

Other aircraft have a "trap door" inside the pipe, which is most definitely sealed. After opening the main cover and hooking up the hose, you release the catch on the trap and then pull the handle to let the blue river flow. Closing the outermost cover on the pipe will close and lock the inner most trap door. This system is much more perferable than the other one, as it does not require you to get your hands anywhere near the poo.

On vaccuum systems, you move a latch that opens a clamshell and then close it. Other systems on older aircraft have catches that you have to open, but those doors are not visible to the naked eye. Some aircraft, like a GII and a GIII may not have the inside trap door.

Most problems with lavs occur when the pull handle to release the poo is not seated back in properly, allowing liquids to drain right down to the dust cover. On long flights, they will freeze and you can't get the stuff out without letting it thaw first.

For a frozen tud to fly out (do frozen turds fly?), the external service door has to be left open, open in flight, or completely separate from the aircraft. The dust cover for the lav pipe must fall off, not be seated properly, or not be put on at all. Then, any other catch mechanisms must have failed. Finally, the pull handle must not be reasted properly. Really, for a turd to come flying out, there has to be a lot of things not being done properly or working properly.

 

[FL000]

Well, first off, I was very young at the time and I did not know any better. Secondly, I think the Chicago PD have much more to worry about than a hit and run on the highway esp. since noone was hurt.

If it happens again, turn your car sideways in the middle of the highway and let traffic stack up until the cops get there. I assure you they will take an interest then.