In case you've ever wondered, it takes the flatulence of 2,186 sheep to force the emergency landing of a plane.
One Singapore Airlines crew learned the hard way after a cargo flight carrying that exact number of woolly creatures touched down early on account of heavy levels of methane gas, reports the IB Times. The October 26 flight, which was traveling from Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, received permission to land in Bali when its smoke detector system alerted the pilot to a potential threat.
On the ground, emergency services thoroughly inspected the aircraft and reported no flames, only the uncontrollable gas of the many sheep, who were presumably glad to have a bit of a breather after being caught up in the giant, airborne Dutch oven.
From the Aviation Herald: “The aircraft was able to depart again after about 2.5 hours on the ground in Denpasar and reached Kuala Lumpur about 2.5 hours later... Emergency services did not find any trace of fire, heat or smoke. The smoke indication was identified to be the result of exhaust gasses and manure produced by the sheep.”
There you have it: in addition to fire, engine malfunctions and stormy weather, sheep farts are no laughing matter on an airplane.
