Watch: Stomach-Churning Moment Brown Sewage Explodes From Ceiling at America's Busiest Airport
Video captured the moment sewage burst through the ceiling at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Aug. 5 2025, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Travelers were met with a foul surprise at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Shocking video footage captured the moment a sewage line broke, causing water and debris to fall from the ceiling at the busiest airport in the U.S., RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Raw Footage
An apparent sewage line break caused water to pour from the ceiling.
Eyewitness Jamaal Carlos Jr. recalled the moment he was sitting at the terminal outside Gate T-11, waiting on his delayed flight bound for Dallas, when he noticed dark, smelly water suddenly start "pouring from the ceiling."
He told local news: "As we're waiting, we see water just pouring from the ceiling. It had been pouring consistently for maybe 10-15 seconds. And it just progressively got worse. The ceiling fell through, and it stinks really bad."
Carlos Jr. got out his phone and began recording.
An eyewitness said 'people were walking though' the sewage.
He said airport officials eventually roped off the area with yellow caution tape.
The passenger continued: "Even after it poured... I thought they would get buckets or do something, but people were walking through it."
After about five to 10 minutes, a crew arrived and began cleaning up the sewage.
Despite officials' best attempts at remedying the situation, Carlos Jr. said he could still smell the rancid odor from several gates away.
The eyewitness said the odor could be smelled from 'three gates down.'
He said: "Airport personnel had to come and re-route everyone to take a different route. It's crazy.
"So, they moved our gate... we were just so close to it. So they moved us a little bit further, but you can still smell it two or three gates down."
Carlos Jr. noted he saw more debris fall from the ceiling, but the sewage appeared to stop leaking.
Online users reacted with disgust over footage of the stinky ordeal.
Demands For New Airport
Social media users slammed the Atlanta airport as the 'worst' in the country.
An X user wrot: "Atlanta airport is hands down the worst airport out of the major American cities," and another echoed, "The worst airport in the country, they need to tear this place down and build a new one."
A third mocked: "I believe the Taco Bell is in the concourse above."
And a fourth chimed in: "A totally normal day at the busiest airport in the world."
One user said the incident proved "Atlanta desperately needs a second commercial airport" because Hartsfield-Jackson "is not well maintained."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
After the incident went viral online, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport released a statement announcing the source of the leak is under investigation.
The statement read: "The affected area has been contained, and remediation crews are actively working to clean and sanitize the space.
"The Lower North Checkpoint is temporarily closed. Customer service representatives are on-site to assist and reroute passengers around the impacted area to ensure minimal disruption. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are also present as a precaution."
Airport officials noted: "There is no impact to overall Airport operations."
