Hawaii-based Airlines - 4/16/2011 - HA16 (HNL-SAN) Returns to HNL After Mechanical Problems

Does anyone know why HAL16 HNL-SAN diverted today?

Hey there,

I was on that flight today. About 40 minutes in to the flight, the plane's nose dipped suddenly, then corrected. After a few more odd movements (wings wagging side to side), the pilot announced that the autopilot had malfunctioned at that we would be heading back to Honolulu. We turned around and landed with the normal emergency fanfare (firetrucks, etc.) and deplaned almost immediately.

Hawaiian Air offered free travel to Waikiki for all passengers and dinner at the Marriott resort there. I opt'd to receive a $20 voucher for airport food as I kind of despise Waikiki. Now we're all waiting around for our new flight which leaves at 12:10am. As always, there was the usual grumbling about why the pilot couldn't have just flown us manually the rest of the way to San Diego. It doesn't really impact me one way or the other and am glad that the pilots made the decision that was safest.

Any other questions? Definitely the first time I've been on a flight that diverted after 40 minutes of flight time.

Hey there,

I was on that flight today. About 40 minutes in to the flight, the plane's nose dipped suddenly, then corrected. After a few more odd movements (wings wagging side to side), the pilot announced that the autopilot had malfunctioned at that we would be heading back to Honolulu. We turned around and landed with the normal emergency fanfare (firetrucks, etc.) and deplaned almost immediately.

Hawaiian Air offered free travel to Waikiki for all passengers and dinner at the Marriott resort there. I opt'd to receive a $20 voucher for airport food as I kind of despise Waikiki. Now we're all waiting around for our new flight which leaves at 12:10am. As always, there was the usual grumbling about why the pilot couldn't have just flown us manually the rest of the way to San Diego. It doesn't really impact me one way or the other and am glad that the pilots made the decision that was safest.

Any other questions? Definitely the first time I've been on a flight that diverted after 40 minutes of flight time.
Glad to hear that you guys are all safe! Safe travels for your midnight departure.

Hey there,

I was on that flight today. About 40 minutes in to the flight, the plane's nose dipped suddenly, then corrected. After a few more odd movements (wings wagging side to side), the pilot announced that the autopilot had malfunctioned at that we would be heading back to Honolulu. We turned around and landed with the normal emergency fanfare (firetrucks, etc.) and deplaned almost immediately.

Hawaiian Air offered free travel to Waikiki for all passengers and dinner at the Marriott resort there. I opt'd to receive a $20 voucher for airport food as I kind of despise Waikiki. Now we're all waiting around for our new flight which leaves at 12:10am. As always, there was the usual grumbling about why the pilot couldn't have just flown us manually the rest of the way to San Diego. It doesn't really impact me one way or the other and am glad that the pilots made the decision that was safest.

Any other questions? Definitely the first time I've been on a flight that diverted after 40 minutes of flight time.

Glad to hear everything went well. Did you end up using the same aircraft on the delayed 12:10am departure? I see that you guys landed safely here in SAN this morning.

Curious about the offer from HA: so, they offered to fly everyone over to Waikiki, give them dinner at the Marriott Resort, and then fly them all back in time for the 12:10am departure? Wow, that sounds like a logistical mess.

In the past, I've been given taxi and hotel vouchers from airlines (including HA) during lengthy MX-related irops. One flight was HNL-YVR that went MX about an hour out of HNL and we came back to HNL and needed to clear U.S. Customs and Immigration when we arrived.

In the past, I've been given taxi and hotel vouchers from airlines (including HA) during lengthy MX-related irops. One flight was HNL-YVR that went MX about an hour out of HNL and we came back to HNL and needed to clear U.S. Customs and Immigration when we arrived.

That's ridiculous. :td: :rolleyes:

Glad to hear everything went well. Did you end up using the same aircraft on the delayed 12:10am departure? I see that you guys landed safely here in SAN this morning.

Curious about the offer from HA: so, they offered to fly everyone over to Waikiki, give them dinner at the Marriott Resort, and then fly them all back in time for the 12:10am departure? Wow, that sounds like a logistical mess.

Waikiki is in Honolulu. No flight necessary. :-)

Glad to hear everything went well. Did you end up using the same aircraft on the delayed 12:10am departure? I see that you guys landed safely here in SAN this morning.

Curious about the offer from HA: so, they offered to fly everyone over to Waikiki, give them dinner at the Marriott Resort, and then fly them all back in time for the 12:10am departure? Wow, that sounds like a logistical mess.

We ended up using a different aircraft for the 12:10am departure. They also gave out $200 vouchers to everyone on the flight when we showed up for boarding. The waikiki thing wasn't too bad of a logistical nightmare from what I gathered. Waikiki is about 10 miles south of the Honolulu airport, so they actually chartered buses to get everyone down there. The buses left around 6pm or so and departed waikiki at 10pm getting everyone back in time for the departing flight. I guess if you're a tourist it's far more interesting than just sitting around the airport.

The HA staff really did an excellent job considering how crazy the whole thing was. I'm glad things like this aren't a normal occurrence at all.

We ended up using a different aircraft for the 12:10am departure. They also gave out $200 vouchers to everyone on the flight when we showed up for boarding. The waikiki thing wasn't too bad of a logistical nightmare from what I gathered. Waikiki is about 10 miles south of the Honolulu airport, so they actually chartered buses to get everyone down there. The buses left around 6pm or so and departed waikiki at 10pm getting everyone back in time for the departing flight. I guess if you're a tourist it's far more interesting than just sitting around the airport.

The HA staff really did an excellent job considering how crazy the whole thing was. I'm glad things like this aren't a normal occurrence at all.

Waikiki ain't so bad... it's just Plastic Hawaii, that's all. I lived there off and on for four years, and while I certainly didn't *love it*, I don't have any particular dislike for the beaches, the bars, and even (gasp!) the hordes of tourists.

Many locals despise the tourists, but then, many are transplants anyway (i.e. former tourists), and anyway, tourism is what brings money to the islands. Unless you're actually Hawaiian, complaining about Waikiki is just farts in the wind. :p

It's not the worst place on earth. Certainly beats the heck out of sitting around that airport for 6 hours.

The HA staff really did an excellent job considering how crazy the whole thing was. I'm glad things like this aren't a normal occurrence at all.

I heard that the 3pm HNL-PHX is sometimes delayed until midnight, due to mechanical delays. It's the last flight out in the afternoon, so I guess its plane is "stolen" to cover other flights. However, I've never heard of HA going out of their way to bus the pax into Waikiki for dinner. I guess the fact that the plane "returned" to HNL was what caused HA to trigger the "dinner in Waikiki" trip.

That said, ^ to HA for handling the situation well. I've only had one plane return to the airport after takeoff. All I got was a crappy airport breakfast and a three hour wait for the next connecting flight with no apology.

Hey there,

I was on that flight today. About 40 minutes in to the flight, the plane's nose dipped suddenly, then corrected. After a few more odd movements (wings wagging side to side), the pilot announced that the autopilot had malfunctioned at that we would be heading back to Honolulu. We turned around and landed with the normal emergency fanfare (firetrucks, etc.) and deplaned almost immediately.

Hawaiian Air offered free travel to Waikiki for all passengers and dinner at the Marriott resort there. I opt'd to receive a $20 voucher for airport food as I kind of despise Waikiki. Now we're all waiting around for our new flight which leaves at 12:10am. As always, there was the usual grumbling about why the pilot couldn't have just flown us manually the rest of the way to San Diego. It doesn't really impact me one way or the other and am glad that the pilots made the decision that was safest.

Any other questions? Definitely the first time I've been on a flight that diverted after 40 minutes of flight time.
As always theres the real reason the pilot returned to HNL.
An autopilot is required to fly in RVSM airspace ( look it up ) you can fly a 767 ( I assume it was a 767 ) at altitude but it is very tedious and apparently not good enough for the Feds for RVSM airspace Which is FL 29,0 to 41,0

They would be too heavy for 410 and not enough fuel for 29,0

Thats why he/she returned to HNL
BW

As always theres the real reason the pilot returned to HNL.
An autopilot is required to fly in RVSM airspace ( look it up ) you can fly a 767 ( I assume it was a 767 ) at altitude but it is very tedious and apparently not good enough for the Feds for RVSM airspace Which is FL 29,0 to 41,0

They would be too heavy for 410 and not enough fuel for 29,0

Thats why he/she returned to HNL
BW

That's awesome, thanks for sharing the real reason for the divert! Knowing that would have made listening to all that complaining even funnier. :)

Glad you made it back safely. That's always the main thing. Better safe then sorry. How did the inflight staff treat everyone? Sometimes they give so much misinformation. But my experience with HA has usually been pretty good.

Glad you made it back safely. That's always the main thing. Better safe then sorry. How did the inflight staff treat everyone? Sometimes they give so much misinformation. But my experience with HA has usually been pretty good.

Inflight staff were great. They were honest and gave us timely updates. Things like "we don't know what will happen here, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear something" kinds of updates. The ground manager Cameron ended up taking the brunt of all the screaming people and handled the situation really well. He gets a ^ from me.

We ended up using a different aircraft for the 12:10am departure. They also gave out $200 vouchers to everyone on the flight when we showed up for boarding. The waikiki thing wasn't too bad of a logistical nightmare from what I gathered. Waikiki is about 10 miles south of the Honolulu airport, so they actually chartered buses to get everyone down there. The buses left around 6pm or so and departed waikiki at 10pm getting everyone back in time for the departing flight. I guess if you're a tourist it's far more interesting than just sitting around the airport.

The HA staff really did an excellent job considering how crazy the whole thing was. I'm glad things like this aren't a normal occurrence at all.

That's really awesome that you got service like that during an MX. Very old school service just like what airlines used to do back in the day, you got to experience recently. ^