Between slaps and bird strikes: check out the most disastrous flights of 2023

Traveling is a unique opportunity, long awaited by people who even face discomforts such as cramped seats, late suitcases, long lines and explosive tempers.

An estimated 34.4 million flights were scheduled to take off this year and most of them went smoothly.

Although problems on the runway or during takeoff are more common, such as the plane that crashed its tail in Recife or the Gol plane that sank in Congonhas, some of the 2023 trips faced less casual obstacles.

Unusual luggage

When preparing your suitcase for travel, the rule is clear: no flammable items, no long blades and no liquid containers with a volume greater than 100 ml.

However, there continue to be passengers who disregard carry-on and checked baggage rules – some more extravagantly than others.

Why get caught with a knife or ordinary firearm when you can be stopped with one? Irish club or a “vampire straw” (a titanium straw with a pointed end)?

If this isn't surprising yet, there was also the case of an American woman arrested in Sydney with an undeclared 24-carat gold-plated gun in her luggage.

Another clear prohibition is transporting smuggled animal materials, whether they are alive or not.

And yet, giant african snails and a dolphin skull were among the items confiscated at Detroit Metropolitan Airport this year, while customs seized a giraffe poop box at a Minnesota airport.

When the plane doesn't even take off

Always check that you have everything you need before traveling. For parents, this means not abandoning their baby at the check-in desk, as a couple did in Tel Aviv, Israel, in February.

And for the crew, it usually means no leave passengers on the runway watching the plane take off, as happened in Bengalaru, India; or take off with passengers, but forget about checked baggageas was the case in Zurich, Switzerland.

Still, if you linger on the ground long enough, your luck can occasionally change for the better. In June, a North Carolina man waited an 18-hour delay and ended up in a exclusive flight just for him.

Bad conduct

Unruly passenger incidents in the United States were considerably more frequent in 2023 than before Covid, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration, although below the 2021 peak.

Some were kicked out before the plane even took off, like the Delta passenger who opened a door and slid through the emergency exit at Los Angeles International Airport, and the men who left a Southwest plane before takeoff after punches in Dallas, Texas .

In May, a woman was removed from a Frontier Airlines flight in Denver, Colorado, after hitting a flight attendant with an intercom. And in November, a Southwest passenger had to be restrained by airport officials after opening an emergency exit and exiting the plane while it was still at the gate.

Some incidents were also more alarming.

In March, a Massachusetts man was arrested for allegedly trying to stab a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon during a flight after trying to open an emergency exit door.

In South Korea, in May, a man managed to open the emergency door shortly before landing, causing the wind to blow through the cabin and surround the terrified passengers on board. The 19-year-old man, who told police he “wanted to get off the plane quickly,” later tested positive for drugs.

It's in Brazil?

In February, two families had a disagreement before a flight from Salvador to Congonhas took off.

The passengers began a general fight – including slaps, swearing and hair pulling – after one passenger asked the other to give up her seat at the window as she was accompanied by a child with special needs.

The families involved in the fight were disembarked and the flight ended up being delayed for an hour.

Animals on board

We've all had flights delayed, but unlike irregular luggage it's rare for this to be caused by an escaped bear in the cargo hold, as happened in Dubai.

Interestingly, delays due to swarms of bees occurred at least twice a year, one in the USA and one on a flight between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

In November, a Boeing 747 en route to Belgium was forced to turn back after a horse escaped on board.

If problems on board were not enough, collisions with “flight colleagues” were also reported during the year. In April, bird strikes were linked to a fire on an American Airlines plane. Meanwhile, in June, in Ecuador, a pilot had to use his skills to regain control of the aircraft after hitting a bird.

However, the 2023 bravery award must go to South African pilot Rudolf Erasmus, who made an emergency landing in his single-engine aircraft after feeling a venomous stowaway snake slithering across his body during the flight.

Eschatological problems

It wasn't just animal feces that generated “turbulence” that year.

In July, during an Air France flight, a couple noticed that the floor of the plane was wet with blood and diarrhea from a previous passenger as they smelled the strong odor coming from the area beneath their feet.

The following month, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Barcelona was forced to turn around after a passenger had diarrhea “all over the plane”.

In October, the person responsible for the problem was “caught with his pants down”. After defecating on the floor of the aircraft's bathroom, an EasyJet flight was canceled and its passengers were forced to disembark.

Problems in the cabin

It's always a bad day when you're locked out, especially when you're a pilot, and that means crawl through the cabin window after a passenger accidentally closes the cockpit door.

One of the people on board who took photos of the incident in May applauded the pilot for going “above and beyond.”

Less praise was given in March when two pilots from Indian low-cost airline Spicejet were suspended after having consumed hot drinks and sweets inside the cabin – a coffee break that could have had disastrous consequences if something spilled.

In October, a plane took off from a London airport with four damaged windows, including two that were missing. The damage was only noticed after the plane took off with nine passengers and 11 crew heading to Florida.

The aircraft reached an altitude of at least 14,000 feet (about 4.2 km) when it was overturned, says a special bulletin from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). The plane returned to Stansted Airport safely shortly afterwards.

Battle for accessibility

Most of us view air travel as a hassle that will be worth it, but for people with disabilities or reduced mobility, unhappy air travel is a common occurrence. While there is progress, we are still some way off from all customers receiving the service they deserve.

Air Canada apologized in November to customers with disabilities who did not receive “convenient and consistent service” after a passenger who uses a wheelchair made headlines around the world after sharing his experience on need to drag yourself off a flight.

According to the non-profit organization Paralyzed Veterans of America, more than 31 wheelchairs were damageddelayed or missed every day by airline workers between 2019 and 2022.

And the disregard for essential mobility tools was caught in a viral video from November that shows a baggage handler throwing a wheelchair, which slides down the boarding bridge ramp, where it turns and lands on the airport apron. American Airlines said it was reviewing the footage.

Travelers with obesity have also complained about airlines' “discriminatory” and confusing seating policies, which often leave customers “paying twice for the same experience” as other travelers.

See also: Airplane turbine explodes during Rio-SP air bridge flight

*With information from Maureen O'hare, from CNN Internacional