Mean Mr. Mustard

I had settled in for the hour-long flight and was dividing my attention between scanning instruments, looking for traffic and enjoying the view when I heard a distinct "pop. Any unusual sound while flying my Comanche gets my attention right away, so I looked around trying to figure out where the noise came from. All instrument indications were nominal and even with my heightened sense of awareness, I could find nothing. So on I went, telling myself it could have been my imagination.

Key Takeaways:

• A pilot was initially startled by a "pop" during a climb, which was later identified as a bag of potato chips opening due to altitude changes.
• Despite this initial lesson, the pilot subsequently opened a sealed mustard bottle at 11,500 feet, causing it to violently splatter its contents throughout the cockpit.
• The article's key takeaway is that sealed containers can forcefully open or "explode" due to pressure differentials when taken from sea level to high altitudes, urging pilots to exercise caution.

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