OMNI: Have you noticed that Nobody pays attention to those emergency flight instructions, even though the F-A's say "Even if you heard it before listen. Well I alwasy do.... for the following reason:
Only had two emergency landings. Both flights were with People's Express. Both were my FIRST FLights... the first to Rochester, the second to Texas (I think, I was accompanying friends)

Rochester: We had this space cadet but very cute and very dumb flight attendant who announced this was her first flight. Half way to Rochester the engine failed and the pilot scrambled to land at anther airport. She got hysterical and it didn't help me, I was about to have a coronary. So some woman said she would slap the F=A in the face if she didn't calm down. The F-A started crying, we landed in a small field, the brave woman helped the F-A get the passengers off the plane. Of course I charge up the aisle from the back, go out screaming and kiss the ground.

Second time: taking off from EWR, I smelled gas and commented loudly enough. there was smoke and just before takeoff the captain screams NO TAKEOFF! NO TAKEOFF!!! We went back to the gate. I sent regrets to my friends, went back home and went to bed.

I did not fly again for about four more years.

But I got back on the horse (I mean plane) and now love it.

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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!




[This message has been edited by Catman (edited 07-01-1999).]

In my 3 years of commercial business flying there was only one incident were a FA spilled a very hot cup of coffee into a gentlemens lap and he thought he was having a heart attack. We all chuckled about it later including the gentlemen and the FA but it's amazing the way fear spreads through the cabin when something happens. As for military flight horror stories, 18 years of Navy P3 Orion flying I've got some duzzies. But thats for another time.

Some time ago (six months?), there was a similar thread and I had posted my People's Express super-happy fun time experience.

But I'll be darned if I can find the thread now...and it was far too traumatic to recount again...

[This message has been edited by Matt Wald (edited 07-01-1999).]

Rudi- you might want to save some of that ire for the attorneys who sadly caused them to act so foolishly in search of the endless stream os American dollars! Sadly, you can easily be sued for trying to help and not doing enough or doing properly or...- on a plane with very little of the necessary equipment on board. Planes are not the best place to be ill, especially emergency medical attention despite the fact that there is usually a doc on board! It is a travesty!

I think that a "Good Samaritan" law for Doc's on Airplanes was enacted recently. (Sorry doc, had to respond being a Lawyer and all.)

Last year I was on a DL 727 that filled with smoke while getting into position on the runway in BOS. We sat there while the plane's AC cleared the smoke caused by it overheating. We then took off! No engineers came and checked the plane, nothing. You would now have to launch my finacee from a cannon to get her into a DL plane.

In 83' the Icelandic DC-8 I was on applied full power and started to roll down the runway, when we got halfway they slammed on the brakes and turned around. The pilot then informed us that #3 engine did not have sufficient oil pressure and we were going to try it again. Not a great thing when flying to Iceland, that North Atlantic ain't warm.

BSL

I had two incidents on Delta on one trip. These were runway aborts in new 757's, one for bad groundspeed reading. The rest were worse-emergengy landing for no flaps in Greece on a charter BAC-111 and a cabin fire inside a C-130 in Air Force days. The VERY worst was hasving bullets go through the floor of a C-130 in SEA. They make a loud noise!

Gee, guess I am unlucky...

1. Eastern airlines 727 from MCO to ORD struck by lightning near Chicago. Loud noise, bright flash, bumps and drops but no damage. Landed safely and quickly (pilot had just advised we were holding for landing at O'Hare, then after the strike he advised we were cleared for immediate landing)

2. United DC-10 ORD to DEN lost hydralic (sp) pressure near Denver. Pilot advised us of situation (and made air traffic available) and told us we were not in danger since winds were light and flaps were not needed (?) for landing. Pilot told air traffic control he wanted a straight in approach and "no surprises" on the descent. The controller asked if he wanted to declare an emergency, and the pilot replied "not yet". We landed normally, and frankly it was one of the smoothest landing I have ever had!

3. United 747 ORD-SFO had an aborted landing. Plane shuddered and shook while pilot applied what seemed to be full power. I was at the bulkhead of business, looking right at the flight attendant, and he looked "concerned". Circled around and landed normally 20 minutes later.

4. Frequent severe turbulance into and out of LAS. By this point, I expect it, but occasionally things fall out from overhead bins and once the drink cart left the holding area, hit the other side of the galley, slammed the drink trays into the door of the cart which promptly opened and glass shattered all over the place. Sounded terrible, and caused one of the F/A to cry out as glass hit her leg.

5. United 767 ORD-LAS. Plane climbed a few thousand feet, with a vibration the whole time. Loud noise heard over and over. Finally I realized that the landing gear was being cycled up and down. Pilot came on PA and advised one of the landing gear bogeys would not retract. We went back to ORD, landed normally, and waited for repairs. The funny part of this story was the method of fixing the gear. Watching from the terminal, some of us saw a mechanic walk to the plane with a large tool (looked like a wrench), climb partially into the wheel well and seemed to hit something over and over. We all made jokes and thought it was funny until the captain (who was watching from the outside ramp of the jetway) RAN down the stairs and starting YELLING at the mechanic. A few minutes later, the flight was cancelled for "mechanical reasons". Hmmmm..

In over 15 years of travel & over 1 million airmiles, there are only 3 situations I can call scary. All 3 were on UA and 2 of them were on brand new Airbus equipment.

1. Approach to land at ORD, I'm in a window seat and we're about 500 ft off the ground.
The plane suddenly pulls up severly and banks to the right with FULL POWER. Seems a plane had strayed onto our runway and another 15 seconds could have been major trouble. Then it took us almost 20 minutes to vector around and get a landing slot...no problem 2nd time.

2. New A-320 from ORD-DEN, I'm in exit row aisle seat, take-off was uneventful & as we're climbing there is a LOUD swooshing noise & trembling under my feet. I reallly thought the plane was in trouble...but as I came to senses I reasoned that it sounded like the landing gear door may have opened.
That is exactly what it was! The pilot said it was a new plane in service for only 4 days & there was no problem (at least for now). The doors closed and the rest of the flight was fine. Upon approaching DEN, pilot told us we had to do a low flyby of the tower so they can take high definition photos of the belly of the plane to make sure everything is OK. After the flyby, we had to circle for 1/2 hr. until the techies agreed the gear was safe to land on. The part that really hit home was seeing all of the emergency vehicles & foam trucks on the runway when we finally landed.
3. This one is for Jim_B-Another new Airbus, taking off from ORD. I was in FC and just as we seemed like the plane would lift off, the
pilot stood on the brakes for what seemed like an eternity. My seatmate & I looked at each other thinking there was no way anything good was about to happen. Seems an indicator light came on and they had no choice but to stop the plane. As Jim_B said, we also had to wait about 25 minutes for the brakes to cool and have maintenance check out the light malfunction. That one was the scariest!

There was only 1 incident in my whole flying career which is about 15 years. Almost all my travel is with Canadian.

It was a flight about 5 or 6 years ago from YYZ - YVR on a DC-10. The aircraft was rolling on the runway and then at near the point of takeoff which they call V1, they decided to abort takeoff, a lot of people on board thought they were not going to have enough runway to stop, however they just did. Turn out that they lost complete power on one of the engine..good thing that didn't happen after take off. Towed back to the gate for 5 hours before taking off again on the SAME aircraft. Beside from that, all of my travel on CP has been "scare free".

Regards,
Empress

I just remember another "emergency landing" from my military days in the early 60s.

During our female unit's first "trip" in the High-Altitude Simulator, we had just switched to pressure breathing, when we noticed that one of our comrade's chest had begun to expand dramatically. We were laughing so hard that we literally could not "breath" in enough oxygen. Suddenly the voice of the medical observer comes over the intercom, "Lt. Smith (name changed to protect the guilty), we will now return ground level and request that you retire to the ladies room and remove any nonregulation paraphernalia, so we may continue this exercise with dignity."

The incident still brings a smile to my face when I think of it.

Please let me know if this story is too risque for the board and I will delete it. It was just so funny at the time.

[This message has been edited by Punki (edited 07-02-1999).]

much too risque for a swiss who had to look up any second word in his diccionary!

1. I was on a UA 737 from Reno to Den. On takeoff, we went thru a flock of geese and the right engine caught fire. The pilot killed the engine, dumped fuel and we did an emergency landing. Lots of screaming and praying as that engine made a huge grinding noise as the goose was (do I say it?) cooked.
2. Twice lost engines in flight (low oil pressure) but we just landed and switched planes.
3. Ord-Den on UA. At Denver Int'l during a snow storm, a truck got lost and wandered onto the runway. We aborted a landing which would've hit the truck.

Punki:
I'm sorry, but I'm really naive. What might that "nonregulation paraphernalia" have been? I'm guessing that it was something that expanded as external air pressure went down, but I'm not sure. And, if I'm right, where do you find it?
Phil

Hey Philforest,

I wasn't the guilty party!!!! The only place I ever saw the results of this particular (I assumed inflatable) nonregulation paraphernalia was on Lt. "Smith".

You must remember that this was the 60's and technology in all fields, including this particular type of expansion, has changed dramatically since then. That exact style of expansion paraphernalia may not be available in this day and age.

Thanks Jim_B.

BSL- Hope it was clear that I meant some (greedy understood) but surely not all attorneys! I should have been more clear. I'm glad to hear there is some protective measure(s) either pased or pending! One bad press report goes a long way in scaring a profession!