Coffee Chaos in the Skies

A US pilot’s coffee spill set off a hijacking alert and forced his plane to land. When he spilled his coffee over the controls, the liquid interfered with the plane’s radio equipment and set off a distress signal. The plane also experienced some navigation problems and the United Airlines flight from Chicago to Frankfurt diverted safely to Toronto.

The pilot had “inadvertently squawked a 7500 code after spilling coffee on the aircraft’s radio equipment, which interfered with the communications equipment,” reported Transport Canada’s website.

Said United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson, “It was a beverage. During light turbulence one of the crew members beverages spilt which then caused issues with the aeroplanes communications equipment.”