Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

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A flight years ago from Joberg to Nairobi.
[snip]
click.

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that is one of the single most entertaining stories i have ever read on 2+2. wow. wow. wow. hahahahahaha

TIA

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Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

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A flight years ago from Joberg to Nairobi. Our plane is delayed for something like two hours due to the fact that they can't find the co-pilot. The whole time we're sitting on the plane. Eventually the captain comes on air and says that he's sorry for the delay, but they really can't find the co-pilot. He then informs us that he's going to fly the plane anyway by himself. We are told that this isn't a big problem what with flying aids and the like, but if anyone has any misgivings then they are free to leave the plane now. We all look at each other in a bemused way, but nobody leaves the plane. Hey, this is Africa.

We take off and everything is cool until a few hours into the flight the pilot comes on-air once again. He has a very thick English accent. He says something like;

"Ladies and gentelemen, this is your captain speaking. Everything is in tip-top shape and we're flying along just nicely here on this beautiful African day. Just a small matter for your attention - I have to leave the cabin for just a moment, which as I'm sure you're all aware will leave us with an absence of pilots flying the plane. Do not be alarmed as we are flying on auto-pilot and I should not be gone from the cabin for more than a minute. Thank you for your attention."

click.

We all just look at each other as the little cabin door opens and the pilot steps out. He takes a large elastic band from out of his pocket and wraps it around the door handle, thus holding open the cabin door. He then walks down the central aisle of the plane to the bathroom at the rear. A hundred heads turn to stare at him as he walks casually by.

A moment after he enters the bathromm the plane enters a small pocket of turbulance, jolts up and down suddenly, and we watch in disbelief and not a small measure of horror as the elastic band snaps and the cabin door closes. One of the flight attendents scurries back to the bathroom with one of those frozen-in smiles and emerges moments later with the pilot tucking in his trousers. He half sprints down the aisle and then comes to a sudden stop as he surveys the situation before him. Not a word is said by any of us. We just watch.

There is a hurried conversation between the stewerdess and the pilot, which results in her rushing to the back of the plane and coming back with a small fire-axe. The pilot takes the axe, walks up to the door and starts chopping his way through. In his enthusiasm he makes the hole a little bigger than what was probably required. He hands the axe back to the stewerdess, reaches through the hole and unlocks the door. He enters the cabin and closes the ruined door behind him, even though we can plainly see him now through the gaping, jagged hole. He sits in his chair, dons his head gear and makes a small announcement;

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We've just experienced a slight technical diffuculty, but we now have matters under control. The weather in Nairobi is for scattered showers and thunderstorms. Thank you for your attention."

click.

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better be in the book sir

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

I don't want to believe it, but I don't think anyone could make up a story like that.

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

As per usual, fantastic story Ads!

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

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Hi PilotMatt,

Great that we have a real pilot here! What did you think of what I wrote in the OP: Is that fairly standard? Do you think there is any real danger of dying/crashing when something like that takes place?

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It would take a pretty unusual event for anything to actually happen to the plane. When they were testing the Boeing 777, a test was performed to see it's resistance to turbulence. It took raising the wingtip 27' above level before there was any structural damage.

I was hit by lightning last year and there was about a two foot hole in the tail. We didn't even know that anything was wrong until we landed and inspected the airplane.

It also was about a million dollars to repair the plane.

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

i thought i was going to win with my story of a dc-10 aborting a landing after touchdown, but i can't compete with that. that's insane.

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

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I don't want to believe it, but I don't think anyone could make up a story like that.

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sure they could [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

i believe it though

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

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Japan Airlines Flight 123




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Way to go bureaucracy!

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There was some confusion about who would handle the rescue in the immediate aftermath of the crash. A U.S. Air Force helicopter was the first to the crash site, some 20 minutes after impact. The crew radioed Yokota Air Base to assemble rescue teams and offered to help guide Japanese forces to the site immediately. Japanese government representatives ordered the U.S. crew to return to Yokota Air Base because the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) were going to handle the rescue.

Although a JSDF helicopter spotted the wreck during the night, poor visibility and difficult terrain prevented it from landing at the site. The helicopter pilot reported no signs of survivors. As a result, JSDF forces did not get to the site as quickly as they might have, spending the night in a village 63 kilometers from the wreck, and not arriving until the following morning. Medical staff found a number of bodies whose injuries indicated that they had survived the crash but died from shock or exposure while awaiting rescue.[1]

The off-duty flight attendant who survived the crash recounted from her hospital bed that she recalled bright lights and the sound of helicopter rotors shortly after she awoke amid the wreckage, and while she could hear screaming and moaning from other survivors, this gradually died down during the night.[1]

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Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

this thread reminded me of that sick runway in st. maarten where the planes fly right over the beach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princes...tional_Airport

Re: Scary Air Travel Experiences
 

One time I went through security with my belt in my carryon. Problem was that my belt buckle was shaped exactly like a grenade.

The TSA people can be pretty scary if they think you have a live grenade with you.