Is it true all human wastes gets dispersed by an airplane to the atmosphere while on flight?

Question

Is it true all human wastes gets dispersed by an airplane to the atmosphere while on flight?

Answer 1

No.  There is a holding tank that is pumped out when full.

Answer 2

No that's false, aircraft have what is called blue water to be change.

Answer 3

Yeah its true because my girlfriends mom car was crushed by a frozen block of ice and everybody says its from an airplane.The airline companies deny it though.

Answer 4

No.. It's just like a trip into the Grand Canyon..everything must be contained and backpacked out for proper disposal.

Answer 5

No. They have a  holding tank that is emptied when the aircraft is  on ground.

Answer 6

no the airplane could dangerously depressurize,its stored in a holding tank that is pumped out when airplane is serviced and refueled,that only happened to joe dirt when he found that big hunk of poopie.

Answer 7

No it is not, all waste is contained in a waste tank. (except for whatever doesn't find its way into the toilet in the first place).

Answer 8

Only by accident/leakage.

Aircraft have a lav (lavatory) holding tank, like a RV (self-contained trailer) that is emptied after landing by a service truck.

Answer 9

Yes, it's true. Have you never felt a drop or two fall on your nose or shoulder on a hot sunny day, That's the droplets that actually make to the ground. Supposed to fertilize the ground. SHHHHH, don't tell anyone.

Answer 10

No but to comfirm another answer....it has happened by accident

Answer 11

The toilet waste is stored on board and emptied on the ground between flights.  There have been issues with some airplane types where the seals on the dump valves and other associated hardware have allowed 'blue water' to leak out, which then freezes on the exterior of the airplane.  Upon descending to lower, warmer altitudes, the frozen blue water breaks off and falls to the ground--or sometimes gets ingested into the engine(s).  Either way it's bad news.  Leaky seals also make life so very enjoyable for the poor sap who's job is to go out and dump the toilet tanks.  If you're not careful, you'll be wishing you'd brought a change of clothes to work.

And so there are repetitive checks to test the seals to make sure this doesn't happen.

Also, human wastes leaking into or onto the airplane leads to corrosion very quickly, so it's something they try to avoid as much as possible.

Now, grey water--the water from the sink drains and the drains in the galleys--is vented overboard through heated drain masts that stick out of the belly of the airplane.  These are heated to keep the water from freezing until after it has cleared the airplane.  When you pour a small stream of water into a 500-mph 40-below-zero Fahrenheit airflow, it flashes into ice crystals--not big chunks--which disperse very rapidly.

The only mode of transportation I've ever seen where wastes were simply dumped overboard were in trains in Europe.  Might not want to do strolling along the train tracks over there (not a good idea anyway, just for safety's sake), and it's something to keep in mind if your sitting on a siding somewhere.

I remember reading somewhere that the Ford Tri-Motor supposedly had a lavatory setup like what you describe, but I've never seen one except in a museum, and they didn't let you climb onboard to see what the toilet was like.