VikingA346 From Sweden, joined Oct 2006, 403 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 years 3 weeks 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 859 times:
Hey I was on a flight between CDG and ARN a couple years ago and I remember smelling a sulfur like smell just as the aircraft was taxiing to take off position. Does anyone know what this smell might be? I asked the flight attendant but he didn't offer an answer and told me "not to worry". Any ideas?
Cheers
...you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you shall return
Bobster2 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (3 years 3 weeks 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 724 times:
Quoting VikingA346 (Thread starter): I asked the flight attendant but he didn't offer an answer and told me "not to worry".
A quick google search found several articles about a sulfur smell incident. The crew notified the captain who ordered passengers off the plane. I assume there are other incidents like this one, except they usually don't get this kind of publicity.
Bobster2 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 7, posted (3 years 3 weeks 5 days 9 hours ago) and read 589 times:
Quoting Airfoilsguy (Reply 6): Am I reading this right? The sulfur snell was belived to be caused by stinky nuns?
Yes.
American Airlines later wrote to the nuns, "Inasmuch as this odor seemed to emanate from your row on the plane, you were afforded a bit more attention than the other passengers."
Also note that a flight attendant was alerted to "shoe bomber", Richard Reid, when she detected a sulfur smell from the match he lit in an attempt to set off the bomb.
Airfoilsguy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (3 years 3 weeks 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 572 times:
Quoting VikingA346 (Thread starter): Hey I was on a flight between CDG and ARN a couple years ago and I remember smelling a sulfur like smell just as the aircraft was taxiing to take off position
Quoting Bobster2 (Reply 2): A quick google search found several articles about a sulfur smell incident. The crew notified the captain who ordered passengers off the plane.
Are these two separate incidents? VikingA346 makes no mention of the plane returning to the gate.
VikingA346 From Sweden, joined Oct 2006, 403 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (3 years 3 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 502 times:
Sorry if I'm being vague, but the smell only lasted for a few minutes, and I can be almost positive that it did not originate from a human.
The aircraft proceeded to take off - it did not go back to the gate.
Perhaps this is just an isolated incident that doesn't deserve this post, but I thought maybe it had happened before/anyone had any ideas of what it could be?
Just for the record, I'm being quite serious here, this is not some kind of joke thread.
...you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you shall return
I'm also taking in seriously, in spite of the smilies. The point is that hydrogen sulfide is normally easily detected by the human nose, but constant exposure causes olfactory fatigue, so the crew members might not be aware of it. That's why I'm concerned that the flight attendant simply told you not to worry without giving further explanation. The F/A might have been correct to not worry, but you were certainly justified to be worried. Hydrogen sulfide is a product of combustion, so it seems to me it is serious, as it was in the Richard Reid incident. On the other hand, aviation fuel contains sulfur, and it might be normal to get a slight odor in the plane, but I can't confirm this and I never noticed it myself.
VikingA346 From Sweden, joined Oct 2006, 403 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (3 years 3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 417 times:
Quoting Bobster2 (Reply 11): On the other hand, aviation fuel contains sulfur, and it might be normal to get a slight odor in the plane
I'm guessing that this is the most viable explanation for this. I'll treat it as an isolated incident - guess that not many others have experienced something like this.
Cheers for the replies
...you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you shall return
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