Imagine you’re walking around in New Delhi, India, minding your own business, when out of nowhere a frozen block of shit falls out of the sky and bonks you on the head. You’d be pretty pissed.
Apparently, what’s been happening is that some planes have been emptying their human waste tanks in midair. The discharged, um, stuff usually has a tendency to freeze while falling to the earth from a great height and is causing all kinds of problems for the people below, reports Bloomberg.
India’s National Green Tribunal ordered the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to make sure that planes don’t dump waste while flying. The court suggested that the safety regulator should conduct surprise checks on planes after they land to make sure that their tanks aren’t empty. Also:
Airlines will have to pay 50,000 rupees ($735) every time their human waste tanks are found empty on landing, and the DGCA must maintain a helpline to take complaints on falling excreta, the tribunal said.
These actions come after a New Delhi resident filed a case in the fall that said that houses in his neighborhood were damaged by falling shit. Another woman suffered a shoulder injury, also allegedly from frozen waste that spiraled toward the earth from a passing plane.
Planes are usually supposed to empty their tanks while at airports by the ground crew. The tanks can be emptied in midair, but only in the case of an emergency leak or technical issue.