A cross-country flight had to make an unscheduled landing when an assistance dog defecated twice in the aisle, sickening passengers with the odour.

US Airways spokesman Andrew Christie said the airline's flight on Wednesday from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to make an unscheduled stop in Kansas City.

Mr Christie called the episode a "rare and unfortunate situation".

The flight continued after the mess was cleaned up on the ground. The passenger and assistance dog were rebooked on another flight.

Jim Kutsch, president of The Seeing Eye guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey, tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that such incidents are rare, but that dogs occasionally get sick on planes, too.

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