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'Boeing bomb' disgusts Yellowknife family

Excrement rained from the sky Sunday afternoon, landing on a family's home in the Magrum Crescent area and spurring an RCMP investigation.

A leisurely day took a turn for the worse around 4 p.m. when John Smith, his son Josh and mother Linda were surprised by “Boeing bomb” outside of John's home, leaving poop stains along the back patio.

photo courtesy : Barbara Bell
The aftermath of a "boeing bomb" which hit John Bell's house and splattered 15-ft along the backyard patio on Sunday afternoon

While they were relaxing on their deck, feces plummeted from the sky without warning, hitting the roof of their home and spreading nearly 4.5 metres. A foul stench ensued.

The Smiths were shocked and disgusted.

“It was the strangest thing and the grossest thing I've ever experienced,” said John. “I was worried about it because you never know what's in the poop. We called the emergency room and were told to wash ourselves good.”

After stripping down, they put their clothes in separate garbage bags. Then, John began spraying down the family's trailer, which also got splattered, the hand-rails and the gazebo in the backyard.

NNSL/file photo
John Smith Jr. was on the receiving end of a "boeing bomb" on Sunday.

“The three of us got peppered,” said John. “We were laughing about it but we were disgusted. There was a little bit of anger but we couldn't help but think, 'Why us'?”

After checking the website flightaware.com, Mikey McBryan from Buffalo Airways said the poop may have come from a flight en route to Toronto from Tokyo. However, there were three flights arriving in Yellowknife around the time of the incident. One from Cambridge Bay at 3:08 p.m. and the other arriving from Inuvik at 4 p.m. The third flight arrived from Lutsel K'e at 3:30 p.m. but did not have a washroom on the plane.

Yellowknife Airport regional manager Lee Stroman said the airport was not aware of the incident and had not been contacted by the RCMP or the Smiths regarding the incident.

“I have never heard of something like this happening in Yellowknife,” said Stroman. “(Poop falling from the sky) is more than rare.”

A similar incident occurred earlier this month in Kelowna, B.C., where multiple residents were struck by poop May 9-12.

A Transport Canada spokesperson provided a possible explanation: a valve malfunction.

“If this happens, the liquid seeping from valves freezes and adheres to the outside of the aircraft when the aircraft is flying at high altitudes,” stated spokesperson Pierre Manoni. “As the aircraft starts its descent and the atmosphere gets warmer, the ice will start to melt and pieces will detach themselves from the aircraft. These pieces of ice will either melt or remain in their solid state before hitting the ground.”

RCMP Const. Heather Cosenzo said the police investigation into the falling feces is ongoing.