[HiTech RedNeck]

A stream of bubbles from beneath a ship might be expected to upset the ship, but a bubble large enough to fly intact into the air and strike an aircraft enough to jar it would also generate pretty awesome concentric waves coming out I’d think. If anyone still wonders about it, why not put a satellite or buoys there to watch the water.

[sinanju]

Well, the article stated that there was evidence aplenty in the sea floor that such eruptions had happened many times in the past.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

This theory’s been around long enough I watched a program a couple years ago, where they conducted a test replicating the effect of a (relatively low) percentage rise in the proportion of methane into the air intake to an internal combustion aircraft engine.

The effect was immediate. The engine simply stopped.

A prop airplane flying into a methane cloud rising from the ocean, would simply fall like a stone into the sea.

[BigCinBigD]

Maybe a large enough amount of natural gas escaping from the ocean surface in a concentrated area. Could cause aircraft engines to stall or perhaps loose lift and cause crashes? Or maybe even...Explode! There I want a grant to study this some more... ;O)