Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Pilots don oxygen masks and make emergency landing when durian stinks out plane

Crew detected ‘strong odour’ just after take-off

Cathy Adams
Monday 07 October 2019 14:56 BST
Comments
The durian is known as "the king of fruits" and is famously smelly
The durian is known as "the king of fruits" and is famously smelly (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A plane made an emergency landing while pilots donned oxygen masks when a shipment of durians stank out the aircraft cabin.

The Air Canada Rouge jet had just taken off for Vancouver from Montreal when the crew detected a “strong odour” onboard the Boeing 767 aircraft.

Crew wanted to investigate the source of the stench, which had spread through the entire cabin.

When it could not be detected, the pilots made a request for an emergency landing, reported Flight Global.

They put on oxygen masks and returned to Montreal, where it was discovered that the smell was coming from a shipment of the smelly fruit in the forward cargo compartment.

The plane landed safely and all 245 passengers and eight crew members were unharmed.

A durian, “the king of fruits” that hails from Southeast Asia, is known for its distinctive odour, which some describe variously as smelling of rotten onions, sewage or vomit.

The smell often lingers, which is why certain hotels and public transport networks across Asia have banned them.

Last year, an Indonesian plane was grounded when a shipment of durian made the cabin smell so bad that passengers complained.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in