CHS 5/4 Pilot landed Long on Runway
May 4, 2013, 1:17 pm
#1
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CHS 5/4 Pilot landed Long on Runway
I was on the early BOS-CHS flight today. We arrived about 15mins early and just sat at the end of the runway for an exceedingly long time. No announcement from the crew as to why we were sitting on the runway.
About 30mins later the guy next to me finally rang the bell and asked the FA what was going on. The FA said we were waiting for a gate. On the active runway? I think not. In addition b6 only has one gate at CHS and I can see that the previous flight to JFK had departed on flight aware.
about 10mins later the plane is being pushed backwards by a tug about 100ft and then we finally begin taxing. It's clear that the pilot overshot the exit from the runway and due to the construction going on at CHS needed to be pushed back to make his turn.
The big question to me, is
a) why the pilot couldn't tell people what was going on?
b) why did it take almost 1/2 hour to get a tug out to the runway?
and above all why did they need to lie about what the issue was?
I noticed that almost all the arrivals on the board were marked as delayed when leaving the terminal.
About 30mins later the guy next to me finally rang the bell and asked the FA what was going on. The FA said we were waiting for a gate. On the active runway? I think not. In addition b6 only has one gate at CHS and I can see that the previous flight to JFK had departed on flight aware.
about 10mins later the plane is being pushed backwards by a tug about 100ft and then we finally begin taxing. It's clear that the pilot overshot the exit from the runway and due to the construction going on at CHS needed to be pushed back to make his turn.
The big question to me, is
a) why the pilot couldn't tell people what was going on?
b) why did it take almost 1/2 hour to get a tug out to the runway?
and above all why did they need to lie about what the issue was?
I noticed that almost all the arrivals on the board were marked as delayed when leaving the terminal.
May 4, 2013, 2:41 pm
#2
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Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
He could. He didn't. Maybe they were busy trying to figure out how to get the tug out or dealing with ATC or any of a number of other things. Love it or hate it, communicating with the passengers is about #3 on the list of things to do at any given point.
Because it did. Also, they likely had to deal with lots of other things than just your flight to take care of it.
That's not a question anyone here can answer. Maybe the pilot hadn't communicated with the FAs so they just assumed the wait was the same as all the others. Or maybe the pilot lied to the FA. Or maybe the FA hates customers and likes lying to them.
No surprise, considering the runway was closed for ~30-45 minutes as you tell the story. That'll back things up even at a small airport.
Because it did. Also, they likely had to deal with lots of other things than just your flight to take care of it.
That's not a question anyone here can answer. Maybe the pilot hadn't communicated with the FAs so they just assumed the wait was the same as all the others. Or maybe the pilot lied to the FA. Or maybe the FA hates customers and likes lying to them.
No surprise, considering the runway was closed for ~30-45 minutes as you tell the story. That'll back things up even at a small airport.
May 9, 2013, 8:48 pm
#3
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A tug goes, what, 2 mph (it's a joke, but the ARE slow) Runways are 1.7 and 1.3 miles long, and that doesn't include taxiing time. They also have to FIND an available tug, find a driver, hook it up, etc.