Needles Found Buried in Airline Meals

As if plane food wasn’t scary enough.

Needles were discovered planted in airline meals on several U.S.-bound international Delta flights. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, sewing needles were buried in turkey sandwiches that were served to business-class passengers on flights traveling from Amsterdam to the States.

At least one passenger, James Tonges, was injured, and he has since been put on antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV, reports ABC News. The needles aren’t necessarily tainted with disease, however. Tonges told ABC, “Since it punctured the top of my mouth, I had to be put on medication, and we’re waiting to see if there’s any type of substance on the needle. They’re doing their examination right now.”

As it stands, no one knows how the sharp objects got into the plane food. But Delta, the F.B.I., police in Amsterdam, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are all on the horrifying Case of the Hidden Needles. The TSA released a statement saying that it had notified all U.S. carriers with flights coming out of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport of the incident. The F.B.I. has launched a criminal investigation.

We contacted Delta for a response and received this statement: “Delta is taking this matter extremely seriously and is cooperating with local and federal authorities who are investigating the incident. Delta has taken immediate action with our in-flight caterer at Amsterdam to ensure the safety and quality of the food we provide onboard our aircraft.”

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Once the needles were uncovered, Delta employees immediately stopped serving the sandwiches and gave passengers pizza instead, according to USA Today. The airline has launched its own investigation, and is now serving more prepackaged food. (The tainted sandwiches weren’t prepackaged—they had come from a catering company in Amsterdam.)

Will you ever eat airline food again? Share your reaction in the comments.

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(Photo: Shutterstock/Ipatov)