A mystery “poop sludge” which has been falling from the sky did not come from aircraft, officials have said.
Residents in Kelowna, British Columbia, have reported deposits of the strange substance hitting the ground in various locations since mid-May.
The first incident happened on May 9th, 2018, when Susan Allan and her 21-year-old son, Travis Sweet, were waiting at a stop light. The car’s sunroof was open and the pair were startled when a thick, viscous brown sludge fell on them.
Sweet said he noticed something hit his face and then he was then hit with a nauseating smell. The nature of the smell and the brown color of the sludge, made them suspect they’d been hit with human feces. Their first thought was to blame a passing aircraft for the digusting deluge. They told the local press: “We saw the aeroplane flying over and we watched the stuff fall from the sky.”
However, the Kelowna International Airport says that there were no aircraft in the area that could have been responsible for the incident. Authoroties also explained that it was not possible for large aircraft to deliberately empty their sewage tanks whilst in the air, though it can happen in the event of a mechanical fault or human error.
Whatever the sludge was, it causes Allan’s eyes to react and turn red.
Susan’s incident wasn’t the last with another similar one following on May 12th. In this case Brett Yates and several of his neighbors awoke to a tan mystery sludge all over their driveways. Their homes were in close proximity to the first incident.
More deposits followed with another Kelowna resident reporting an incident on June 16th, with sludge covering part of her driveway and car.
In total Transport Canada had 18 incidents reported over the course of a few weeks, most of them claiming they had encountered “blue ice”. This name derives from the blue liquid used to disinfect human waste on aircraft toilets. When it has leaked in the past it has sometimes formed an icy deposit on the outside of the plane before falling off as the aircraft descends to warmer air.
The investigation looked at local radar information and also included interviews with local airports and aircraft operators. The results of the investigation led them to announce last week that the incidents are not aircraft related. In a statement they wrote: “The department’s review has concluded that these incidents do not meet the description of blue ice and are therefore not aviation related.”
However, 53-year-old Allan is not convinced and has contacted Transport Canada to tell them that their findings are incorrect.
Incidents can be reported directly to Transport Canada via their website.