Well made a mileage run out of a trip to AOK to attend part of a retirement party.

29APR2003 CO 2303 BWI-EWR ERJ145 Uneventful, no cabin service
CO 2573 EWR-ROC ERJ-145 Uneventful, water and peanuts/pretzels
CO 2278 ROC-CLE ERJ-145 Uneventful, soft drinks and
peanuts/pretzels - same plane as CO 2573
CO 1645 CLE-IAH MD-80 Uneventful, snack service. Sat next to
a women whose mother had a heart attack and
was in emergency surgery during the flight.
CO 663 IAH-OAK via MAF 737-900 See Below*

30APR2003 CO 2732 MAF-IAH ERJ-145 Uneventful, soft drinks and
peanuts/pretzels
CO 0174 IAH-MCI 737-500 Uneventful
NW 1756 MCI-DTW Uneventful finally had the beer
I needed from the night before
NW 0278 DTW-BWI 757 Two hour ramp delay because of thunderstorms in DTW. The lightening required the ramp crew to remain indoors and not be loading baggage onto the planes. Some mild chop – flight attendants remain seated for flight.



* CO 663 IAH-OAK 29APR2003

The plane was a 737-900. Normal takeoff, on time from Houston, which was scheduled for 8:50 p.m. The flight was fairly full and I was lucky to get an empty seat next to me in the middle. I had a window seat in the third row of coach on the right side of the plane (seat 8f).

The pilot had turned the fasten seat belt sign on a while earlier because of a thunderstorm off some miles away north of the plane. The flight had been smooth and the movie was on. I actually noticed that the plane started to descend but thought nothing of it as the pilot may be changing altitude to avoid some turbulence. It turns out that this is 53 minutes into the flight. A few minutes later the flight attendant announced that we would be making an emergency landing and that all service items were to be collected, seats fully up, tray tables locked, etc. The flight attendant indicated that she didn't know the reason and that the pilot would provide more details after going through the emergency checklist. The flight attendants were certainly in high gear collecting the stuff from the cabin. The guy sitting in the aisle and I pull out our copies of the in-flight magazine to guess where we might land. He guessed Midland.

A few minutes later the pilot informs us that the sensors indicate a fire in the forward cargo bay. (Great - just a few feet ahead of where I am sitting. - For once I may actually be glad not to be in first class – directly above the cargo hold.) The fire extinguishers were discharged and all the indications are that everything was ok, as the warning siren blared in the background every few seconds. He states that we'll be landing in Midland, TX and we should be on the ground in about 20 minutes and that we'll be met by the fire trucks.

As we descend the flight seems normal. There doesn't seem to be any trouble handing the jet and there are no fumes and most importantly, no flames or explosions. There is no instruction to assume brace positions for the landing. As I’m near the front, I can’t see most of the passengers. I suspect that many people have their cell phones in hand and its possible that some even used the AirPhones to make calls in during the descent. Most seem calm from the quiet in the main cabin, except for the one young girl in the first row of coach who had brought her two tiny turtles on-board with her. The young girl cries and is comforted by her mother.

We land with a thud, as we find out later on that we are 35,000 pounds overweight. We see fire trucks at the first intersection which pull in behind us as we continue to race down the runway. The plane finally slows down. We pull off the runaway and taxi near fire station and stop. A few passengers applaud, most are waiting to find out what is going on but there are lots of smiles that at least we are on the ground and not in the air. Two firefighters jump out of trucks in their silver suits and move towards the plane with a hose. Unbeknownst to me is what the cabin crew is doing at this time, as I watch the events outside the plane. The flight crew is ready for an emergency evacuation should there be a fire detected when the cargo door is opened.

The cargo door is opened and there doesn't seem to be a panic outside. Two fire fighters in silver protective suits approach the forward cargo hold and open it. There is one small puff of smoke from one of the fire trucks (are they getting ready to spray foam?). The hose is not used and the one fire fighter goes back to the truck to get a handheld temperature sensor. No rushing around outside, which is good. My seat is particularly good for watching the events outside, which turns out not to be urgent. The cargo door is closed and we taxi towards the terminal building but there are no gates for us to use. Lots of people are chatting on their cell phones telling others that they weren’t going to be on-time in Oakland, canceling taxis and limos and just wanting to hear a loved one’s voice. I was able to borrow a cell phone and attempt to contact Continental to rebook the rest of my travels but lose cellular service.

After waiting a while, we were told that the flight crew was awaiting instructions from Houston and that Continental was attempting to get the Continental Express ground station employees to come back to the airport to help us and the station had closed for the evening. Continental Express only flies the regional jets into Midland, TX and they are not set-up for a 737 with nearly 150 people. This is when we are told that the plane landed 35,000 pounds overweight and will need a safety inspection before it can take off again. They aren’t sure what the requirement is for replacing the fire extinguishers. I was able to borrow a cell phone and attempt to contact Continental to rebook the rest of my travels but lose cellular service.

After a while, an elderly woman started to indicate that she needed her insulin. There was some rushing around to help her. Eventually the portable stairs were brought out to the plane and those in seated in front of the medical situation could get off. Midland, TX had winds of about 20 mph so it was quite gusty. People were told that they had the choice of taking their carry-on baggage with them or leaving it on the plane. Those who took their carry-on luggage with them saved themselves a lot of hassle later on.

Once in the terminal, we can’t go to the main part of the airport as there are no TSA screeners on duty to let us back to the gate area. There are no services available in the secure part of the airport. There are drinking fountains but as the one Midland police officer told me “No one drinks the water in Midland. Everyone buys bottled water.” The water is terrible (sorry Midland). I wander around a bit and get to a payphone to call Continental reservations. Time to rebook my return voyage. I estimate that if we make it to Oakland it will be very, very late. Even if I have to sleep in the airport or outside the airport – the one hotel that has a sign in the secure part of the airport has a shuttle bus to the hotel which stops at midnight and we are past that - I won’t continue on to Oakland. I wait about five minutes to talk to a human. At first the reservations agent doesn’t understand why I am calling when I should be in the air approaching Oakland. “Why do you want to rebook. I have to see if your fare allows changes. “ are the types of comments. When he finally understands that I am in Midland, TX because of the problems with the plane, it becomes no problem to get me on a flight out the next morning. Hey I can even pick up the rest of my flights the next day. I’m happy that I know what is happening to me as we wait for word on what happens next. I hang around to see if the flight is going to depart and if not what will happen with hotels.

Water and soft drinks arrive as the CO Express ground crew arrives. There is a limited amount of the precious liquids available but it is nice to have a cold crink. I wish I could have had a beer or something stronger but its better than the drinking fountain. We have been hanging out near the Southwest gates where we entered the terminal building. As there is the final Southwest flight of the day yet to arrive, we are asked to move to the other end of the 6 gate terminal building. As we arrive at the CO gate, people start asking about the carry-on baggage as some folks need there medicine, etc.

The CO Express folks tried their best but they don’t know what to do because they don’t want people wander on the tarmac out to the plane to retrieve items nor do they want people to be without their baggage. I hang around the gate counter to see what I can hear from the walk-talkies. Finally I hear hotels being mentioned that that CO is going to have to fly some people out from Houston before the plane can take off again. The Ramada and the Hilton each have about 60 rooms available. There is still discussion about what to do about the carry-on baggage and the checked luggage. A fellow traveler asks what someone without luggage should do and he’s told to go down to the check-in counter to get the voucher for the hotel and to be ready to depart at 9:00 a.m.

A few of us get down to the check-in counter and no one is there yet but at least we are at the front of the line. Announcements are made about luggage and the process begins. I get to go to the Hilton. There is one shuttle ready for the Hilton but its for the crew. More folks come out of the airport and first load goes to the Ramada. The crew shuttle is waiting for the captain. Finally of the crew goes off in search of the captain, who arrives independent of the search party. I recognize the captain I approach him to say thank you and compliment the entire flight crew for their professionalism (Thank you again Sam et al). The pilot apologizes for Midland but had to land at the closest suitable airport. Austin and San Antonio would have been better for passenger comfort he stated. Speaking for the passengers, I let him know that we are happy to be on the ground and safe. The last crew member returns from the unsuccessful search and gets into the shuttle van. There’s one seat available and as I have the smallest carry-on I’m selected for the 20-minute ride to the hotel.

The pilot gives the crew some details about when to meet the shuttle in the morning, their revised routing for tomorrow, etc. I find out that it was the first emergency for any of the crew. I’m glad of that but certainly could not have figured it out from any of their actions.

I arrive at the Midland Airport the next morning at 9:20 a.m. to see the plane still parked on the tarmac, a beehive of activity and all the passengers in the secure part of the airport. I check in and am told that I am standby for my flight. I let the agent know that I was on the stranded flight and when I changed the reservation last night (that morning?) I was not told that I was waitlisted. After about 15 minutes of calls and reconfiguring reservations, the flights are “resync ed” and I’m ready to go. Breakfast int eh airport and I watch the departure time for the flight to Oakland get pushed back to 10:30, 11:00 and then 11:30. My flight is 30 minutes late and we leave at 11:30 a.m.; the Oakland flight is still sitting on the tarmac.

Back in Houston after my first flight of the day, I check the arrivals and departures board to see that my original OAK-IAH flight, which was scheduled to arrive at about 12:20 was scheduled to arrive at about 8:45 p.m., eventually pushed back to after 9:00 p.m. by the time I leave Houston.