As gender reveal parties grow more and more audacious, they are somehow getting more dangerous, too. Take, for instance, a stunt that ended with a plane crash in rural Texas.
The elaborate gender reveal, planned by a friend of the expecting parents, took place in early September in Turkey, Texas, about 100 miles from Amarillo. The plan was to spill gallons of pink water from a small plane (the water was coloured in accordance with the baby’s sex).
But the pilot flew too low to be safe mid-stunt, and the plane immediately stalled after dumping out the water, CNN reports. It then crashed into the ground.
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The reports left people somewhat baffled. Characteristically, Twitter users mined the news for all its deadpan absurdity.
Hey everyone you can reveal your babies gender with a mass text https://t.co/pLnY5lwYtj
— Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) November 9, 2019
13 killed in gender reveal drone strike
— adam (@burgerkrang) November 9, 2019
Mr. Mayor, beginning at 4pm I will reveal a gender every hour until my demands are met.
— mattman (@cushbomb) November 9, 2019
Hydrogen Bomb Goes Off Early During Gender-Reveal Event, Killing At Least 500,000
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) November 9, 2019
Notably, this is not the first gender reveal to spiral out of control — and no, it’s not just poorly coordinated balloon stunts that have people concerned. About 47,000 acres of Arizona grasslands burned after a gender reveal explosion sparked a wildfire last year, as seen in footage posted by the Arizona Daily Star. A viral video in July showed a car in Australia bursting into flames after puffing out blue smoke in a daredevil gender reveal stunt — the father, who was behind the wheel, was charged with a $1,000 (£535) fine, according to Australian news channel Nine News Gold Coast. Just last month, a family in Iowa accidentally built a working pipe bomb for a gender reveal announcement. The bomb killed a grandmother at the party, CNN reports.
Can we all agree to stop with the gender reveal bullshit? I literally “revealed” the genders of my twins with an emoji. Didn’t have the flash of a plane crash but it got the job done. https://t.co/eiw9XMuEAX
— A Problem Like Maria (@CarpeScream) November 9, 2019
Even the creator of gender reveal parties admitted the whole endeavour has gotten way out of hand.
Luckily, the crashed plane appears to be the only lasting damage sustained during the 7th September 7. The pilot was not injured, while a second passenger only sustained minor injuries. According to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was designed to carry just one person.