Many moons ago when I was working for an operator of small piston engine aircraft, we undertook a flight to Le Mans on a PA34. The client was making a day-return for business lunch and upon arrival to Le Mans, the client advised the captain that he would return around 1600 after a lunch. The client and his two colleagues did indeed return for 1600 departure as planned, albeit a little worse for wear.
Not long after departure, the passenger tapped the captain on the shoulder and asked if there was a bathroom facility or something he could use: on the PA34 clearly not !! The captain advised that we are passing Caen Airport and if really needed he could put down, the passenger then advsied that he could wait for the hour or so that remained. A short time after, the captain noted that there was a rather unpleasant aroma in the small PA34 cabin, he turned around to see not more than 5 feet from his nostrils was the horror; the entire contents of the “coolbag” that provided the light catering had been strewn around the spare seat in the back and the client calming “zipping up” what should have been the now empty coolbag. It was however clear, that the poor coolbag had been subjected to more than just passing the English Channel !! Upon arrival the client presented the captain with the aforementioned coolbag along with a £50 tip !
The happy part of the story is that the Captain of the PA34 is now the Captain on a CL604 where happily he shouldn’t have to encounter any more unpleasant stories like this, it seems that perhaps the only crap he will receive nowadays will be from ops, the broker or the passengers
