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FAA investigating after Delta passengers report bleeding ears and noses

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FAA investigating after Delta passengers report bleeding ears and noses
News

News

FAA investigating after Delta passengers report bleeding ears and noses

2024-09-19 04:03 Last Updated At:04:10

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a Delta Air Lines flight leaving Salt Lake City last weekend developed cabin pressure issues and left some passengers with bleeding eardrums, headaches and bloody noses.

The flight was traveling Sunday from Salt Lake City to Portland, Oregon, when pilots of the five-year-old Boeing 737-900ER aircraft noticed a pressurization problem and made an emergency landing back in Utah's capital, according to the flight log.

Passengers told television station KSL they noticed people bleeding as the plane decreased in elevation over the Great Salt Lake. Pilots announced they were returning to the airport but did not explain why, passenger Caryn Allen said. Oxygen masks did not deploy.

Allen described watching her husband cover his ears in pain while other passengers tried to help a man on the other side of the aisle who had an uncontrollable bloody nose.

Another passenger, Jaci Purser, told KSL it felt like someone was stabbing her inner ear.

“I grabbed my ear, and I pulled my hand back, and there was blood on it,” she said.

Paramedics met passengers at the gate and identified at least 10 people out of the 140 on the flight who required medical attention. They recommended that anyone who was bleeding go to the hospital for further evaluation, and Delta offered to cover those transportation costs, the airline said.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience on flight 1203 on Sept. 15,” Delta said in a statement. “The flight crew followed procedures to return to SLC where our teams on the ground supported our customers with their immediate needs.”

The airline said the plane was taken out of service Sunday and went back into service Monday after technicians resolved an issue that made the plane unable to pressurize above 10,000 feet, Delta said.

The Boeing aircraft involved in Sunday’s emergency landing is not part of the manufacturer’s newer MAX fleet, which came under investigation this year after a door plug blew off during a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines flight while the plane was at 16,000 feet over Oregon.

However, the FAA in late January recommended more thorough inspections of other Boeing aircrafts including the 737-900ER involved in the incident over Salt Lake City because it shares the same door plug design as the MAX jets.

FILE - Delta planes sit at their gates on June 13, 2022, at Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

FILE - Delta planes sit at their gates on June 13, 2022, at Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

SYDNEY (AP) — The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they lined up to experience a momentous bloom -– and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage.

Tall, pointed and smelly, the corpse flower is scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum — or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest.

But to fans of this specimen, she’s Putricia -- a portmanteau of “putrid” and “Patricia” eagerly adopted by her followers who, naturally, call themselves Putricians. For a week, she has graced a stately and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden.

Her rise to fame since has been rapid, with more than 13,000 admirers filing past for a moment in her increasingly pungent presence. No corpse flower has bloomed at the garden for 15 years.

The plant only flowers every 7-10 years in the wild.

“The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” said garden spokesperson Sophie Daniel, who designed Putricia's kooky and funereal display. “When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”

There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 worldwide — including those in cultivation. Among them is Putricia, which arrived at the garden seven years ago.

When her flower was spotted in December she was just 25 centimeters (10 inches) high. By Thursday, she was 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall -– and her flower spike was slowly opening like a pleated skirt around a majestic central tuber, the yellow-green outer curling to reveal a burgundy center.

As excitement grew in Sydney about the moment of her bloom, garden staff erected crowd barriers, giving the Victorian greenhouse the air of a rock concert. Fans trod a red carpet to view Putricia from behind velvet ropes in a display inspired by Queen Victoria’s funeral, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the oeuvre of the late director David Lynch.

Inside, fans took selfies and leaned in for a sniff — an increasingly perilous prospect as Putricia's odor developed. One young woman raised her hands and bowed as though in worship. On social media, garden staff performed a viral dance to Chappell Roan’s summer hit HOT TO GO! against a backdrop of the stately plant.

It was difficult to say why the regal, mysterious and stinky flower had attracted such a following -– but perhaps the answer lay in the “reverence” viewers felt in the presence of “such an amazing living being,” Daniel said.

Along with her real-life visitors, Putricia’s online fandom has been rapid, global and deeply strange -– if much less smelly. A 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drew close to a million views in less than a week and a shared language of memes and inside jokes sprang up.

Frequently deployed acronyms included WWTF, or we watch the flower, WDNRP -- we do not rush Putricia – and BBTB, or blessed be the bloom. “Putricia is a metaphor for my life,” wrote one poster, who did not elaborate.

Commenters on social media made plans to hurry to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia’s bloom -– and her stench -– would be gone.

As she unfurled, Putricia would heat to 37 degrees Celsius (100 F) to better spread her scent, Daniel said, attracting flies and carrion beetles to burrow inside and lay eggs. Then, work will begin to hand-pollinate the plant in efforts to ensure the species' diversity and survival.

But first, thousands of Putricians will attempt to get as close as they can to their hero of a week.

“We did have a few conversations early on about whether or not we should have vomit bags in the room," said Daniel, adding that garden staff ultimately decided against it. “I haven’t heard of anyone actually being harmed."

Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A man uses a mop to soak up water from the plants where an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is on display at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A man uses a mop to soak up water from the plants where an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is on display at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Sophie Daniel poses for a photo next to an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Sophie Daniel poses for a photo next to an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Karen, center left, and Wayne McKay photograph themselves with an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Karen, center left, and Wayne McKay photograph themselves with an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

People view an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

People view an endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

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