Embarrassed Plane Passenger Opens Up About Being Soaked Head to Toe by an Unidentified Liquid Mid-Flight
Flying can already be a stressful experience, but one man’s recent trip took things to a whole new level. Kevin Glover, a 39-year-old from Cincinnati, found himself completely drenched during a United Airlines flight, and the mystery surrounding what exactly soaked him only made the whole ordeal worse. He shared his experience on Instagram, and it quickly caught the attention of people everywhere who couldn’t believe what he went through. What started as a routine trip turned into something nobody would want to deal with at 30,000 feet.
Glover was aboard United Airlines flight 2616, traveling from Houston to Chicago on April 26, when he first noticed something dripping on him. At first, he thought it had something to do with his earphones, but the situation escalated fast. A steady stream of liquid suddenly poured down on him from above, soaking him completely. He told People magazine that he was left stunned and was honestly surprised his phone even survived the soaking.
He pressed the call button for help and waited until after takeoff to get assistance from the flight crew. When staff finally came to check on him, they handed him a few paper towels and never moved him to a different seat. The liquid didn’t stop there though, and roughly 30 to 40 minutes later, another significant stream came pouring down on him, this time strong enough to startle the passengers sitting next to him. Some of it even bounced off his hat and dripped onto the people nearby.
When crew members investigated the overhead area, they speculated it could be condensation that had built up inside the cabin. The overhead locker appeared clear, but there were small gaps in the crevices where liquid could collect over time. A flight attendant ended up stuffing napkins into the holes in an attempt to stop the dripping. Glover said that by this point, he was genuinely concerned about the health risks associated with coming into contact with an unidentified liquid.
The situation was never fully resolved, and Glover had to walk off the plane still soaking wet at the end of his flight. He told People that as he was disembarking, he noticed other passengers pulling out their phones when they saw the state he was in. The whole experience left him feeling embarrassed and frustrated, particularly with how the airline handled things. He wrote on Instagram that he was soaked from head to undies, which really says it all.
As for what United Airlines offered him afterward, Glover said he declined a $167 refund or a digital flight credit. He did accept some United miles that were given to him while still on the aircraft during the incident, but made clear that was far from enough to make up for what he went through. He summed up his feelings to People in a pretty telling way, saying that it felt like a Band-Aid on a war wound. The airline had not publicly responded to his claims at the time his story went viral.
It is hard not to feel for someone who spent an entire flight sitting in wet clothes with no real solution offered to them. Airlines are expected to maintain a certain standard of care for their passengers, and being drenched by a mystery liquid and handed a few paper towels is not exactly meeting that bar. Whether it was condensation or something else entirely, the lack of a proper response from the crew is what really seems to have gotten under Glover’s skin.
If you have ever had a travel nightmare that left you feeling completely overlooked, share your experience in the comments.
