Unusual airliner passenger experiences
Discussion
What curious things have happened to you during the course of an aeroplane journey?
Here are some of mine:
1) We once took off from Dresden on an internal German flight to Dortmund in a little Dornier. No sooner had we reached the cruising altitude and before we even had a chance to pass round the communal thermos flask, we promptly descended and landed at the next airport of Leipzig. Nothing was mentioned over the intercom to the passengers, but it transpired that the same airline was operating a similar flight from Leipzig to Dortmund and had realized that they could squeeze both sets of passengers onto one aircraft to save some money. Undestandable I suppose, but a little prior explanation would have been nice.
A colleague of mine took the return flight and straight after take-off the plane circled and returned to Dortmund. They hadn't shut the door properly!
2) I also remember a flight back to the UK from Chicago. I had the misfortune to be at the back of the plane, next to a woman who visited the toilet countless times during the flight and she even got up again for another trip 10 seconds before we landed!
3) A groups of us once checked our luggage in at JFK, only to then discover that the BA flight back to England was seriously delayed. We subsequently re-booked on an earlier flight with another airline and flew home. My luggage was eventually delivered to my home a day later. BA were not amused.
4) 10 years ago I booked a flight from Stansted to Leipzig on a new service operated by a Lufthansa subsidiary called Cirrus Airlines. When I arrived at check-in, I asked the lady if it was a busy flight. "Not really", she replied "You're the only passenger on it!"
Sure enough I had the entire Embraer 145 jet to myself and spent the flight chatting up the stewardesses. They didn't even bother with the safety briefing. Needless to say, that route didn't last very long.
5) I also took a Scotland to Stansted internal flight and circumstances transpired to make me exit through International arrivals. Still with their Independence vote on the horizon, this may soon be the norm!
Here are some of mine:
1) We once took off from Dresden on an internal German flight to Dortmund in a little Dornier. No sooner had we reached the cruising altitude and before we even had a chance to pass round the communal thermos flask, we promptly descended and landed at the next airport of Leipzig. Nothing was mentioned over the intercom to the passengers, but it transpired that the same airline was operating a similar flight from Leipzig to Dortmund and had realized that they could squeeze both sets of passengers onto one aircraft to save some money. Undestandable I suppose, but a little prior explanation would have been nice.
A colleague of mine took the return flight and straight after take-off the plane circled and returned to Dortmund. They hadn't shut the door properly!
2) I also remember a flight back to the UK from Chicago. I had the misfortune to be at the back of the plane, next to a woman who visited the toilet countless times during the flight and she even got up again for another trip 10 seconds before we landed!
3) A groups of us once checked our luggage in at JFK, only to then discover that the BA flight back to England was seriously delayed. We subsequently re-booked on an earlier flight with another airline and flew home. My luggage was eventually delivered to my home a day later. BA were not amused.
4) 10 years ago I booked a flight from Stansted to Leipzig on a new service operated by a Lufthansa subsidiary called Cirrus Airlines. When I arrived at check-in, I asked the lady if it was a busy flight. "Not really", she replied "You're the only passenger on it!"
Sure enough I had the entire Embraer 145 jet to myself and spent the flight chatting up the stewardesses. They didn't even bother with the safety briefing. Needless to say, that route didn't last very long.
5) I also took a Scotland to Stansted internal flight and circumstances transpired to make me exit through International arrivals. Still with their Independence vote on the horizon, this may soon be the norm!
Sat on a nearly empty Lufthansa 737 out of Munich heading to LHR. Located just behind the Stb wing, I noticed oil poring down the side of the engine nacelle
flowing into the slipstream. It didn't stop so I called the hostie and showed her. She disappeared into the flight deck and returned five minutes later to tell me
"It's normal Sir" She was slightly perplexed when I said "If it's normal, why isn't the other engine doing it?" ...
flowing into the slipstream. It didn't stop so I called the hostie and showed her. She disappeared into the flight deck and returned five minutes later to tell me
"It's normal Sir" She was slightly perplexed when I said "If it's normal, why isn't the other engine doing it?" ...
Flying back from Chicago about 12 years back. Me and a colleague were in the rear 2 seats on the RH of an AA 767. Across the aisle was what can only be described as a very strange woman in her late 60's I'd guess. She stank of urine, and here clothes were somewhat tatty, and looked like a pie-key. We took off, and after the meal, she hid her self under a blanket. I had a few Famous Grouses and went to sleep.
We got woken by the captain explaining that after an incident on board, we were diverting to Shannon. He said that the plane was fine, but they had to divert. Strange woman had gone from the seat opposite me. As we touched down, about 10 emergency vehicles chased us down the runway. The plane taxied off RW, and came to a halt on the pan away from the terminal. Several police stormed the plane and removed strange woman who had been relocated to the front of the cabin and tied down. Several ambulance crews entered the plane, and removed 2 or 3 stewardesses.
My hangover is now kicking in, and I'm feeling none too well. My fault I know, but I did manage to sleep through something big by the looks of things. Captain then came on the PA to explain that strange woman had "attacked" several stewardesses after being "startled" by them wanting to check her seatbelt was done up. Turns out she can rotten teeth, and was spraying them with something from an aerosol to numb them. This was sprayed into the faces of the stewardesses, who promptly passed out - right next to me. A struggle ensued, and she was disarmed and detained. The "emergency landing" was a precaution as the spray has entered the air-con and the flight crew has also breathed it. They then buggered off with some more police.
We spent 5 long hours on the ground at Shannon, and were not allowed off. Did I mention I had a hangover? We got breakfast, then the flight crew returned, having gotten in touch with HQ to find out if they were still allowed to fly with the stuff having being inhaled. Turned out they were, and we eventually got to Heathrow about 8 hours late. Never found out what hapened to strange woman.
We got woken by the captain explaining that after an incident on board, we were diverting to Shannon. He said that the plane was fine, but they had to divert. Strange woman had gone from the seat opposite me. As we touched down, about 10 emergency vehicles chased us down the runway. The plane taxied off RW, and came to a halt on the pan away from the terminal. Several police stormed the plane and removed strange woman who had been relocated to the front of the cabin and tied down. Several ambulance crews entered the plane, and removed 2 or 3 stewardesses.
My hangover is now kicking in, and I'm feeling none too well. My fault I know, but I did manage to sleep through something big by the looks of things. Captain then came on the PA to explain that strange woman had "attacked" several stewardesses after being "startled" by them wanting to check her seatbelt was done up. Turns out she can rotten teeth, and was spraying them with something from an aerosol to numb them. This was sprayed into the faces of the stewardesses, who promptly passed out - right next to me. A struggle ensued, and she was disarmed and detained. The "emergency landing" was a precaution as the spray has entered the air-con and the flight crew has also breathed it. They then buggered off with some more police.
We spent 5 long hours on the ground at Shannon, and were not allowed off. Did I mention I had a hangover? We got breakfast, then the flight crew returned, having gotten in touch with HQ to find out if they were still allowed to fly with the stuff having being inhaled. Turned out they were, and we eventually got to Heathrow about 8 hours late. Never found out what hapened to strange woman.
Way back in the days when this was allowed, I won a schools competition and was rewarded handsomely with a cheque and (even better) a trip on the flight deck of a Britannia 757 from Luton - Venice.
The aricraft was empty on the way out and the Captain's choice of climb angle reflected a) no passengers and b) no associated weight on board as we left Luton. Amazing approach at Venice with sea on all sides. Got to do the walk around on the apron on the way back and oversaw re-fuelling, baggage and the like with the FO.
Britannia sponsored the competition and we also got to go airside at Luton and have a poke around the hangars, control tower, fire station etc. As an aircraft obsessed 14 year old it was the best thing I had ever done. Still got the photos somewhere of me operating the foam cannon on the roof of a fire engine.
The aricraft was empty on the way out and the Captain's choice of climb angle reflected a) no passengers and b) no associated weight on board as we left Luton. Amazing approach at Venice with sea on all sides. Got to do the walk around on the apron on the way back and oversaw re-fuelling, baggage and the like with the FO.
Britannia sponsored the competition and we also got to go airside at Luton and have a poke around the hangars, control tower, fire station etc. As an aircraft obsessed 14 year old it was the best thing I had ever done. Still got the photos somewhere of me operating the foam cannon on the roof of a fire engine.
I flew with Jet Airways from Mubai to goa, and was very impressed that even though its only a 25 mintue flight on a 737 the plucky crew started serving a cooked meal during the climbout, puching the charge uphill up the aisle.
Then during landing they were collecting the empty trays in.
While admirable I'm never eating their food again as I didn't get off the loo for 3 days after.
Then during landing they were collecting the empty trays in.
While admirable I'm never eating their food again as I didn't get off the loo for 3 days after.
I flew over a lightning storm on the way back to England from Belgium once. That was stunning - the whole sky lights up, bright purple. One of the most amazing things I've seen.
On an internal Ryan Air flight, the pilot misjudged the landing somewhat...I think he thought the runway way 100 feet lower down than it actually was...slammed into the deck with a hell of a force. I didn't know planes could bounce. It's the only time on a flight when the seatbelt has been of any use.
On an internal Ryan Air flight, the pilot misjudged the landing somewhat...I think he thought the runway way 100 feet lower down than it actually was...slammed into the deck with a hell of a force. I didn't know planes could bounce. It's the only time on a flight when the seatbelt has been of any use.
Nothing too remarkable, but did have one where a leading edge flap didn't close (I think) after take off. He did the whole flight (geneva-manchester) at a crazy nose-up angle, half normal cruising height and much slower. The landing, conversley, was at a much higher speed than normal (in a "non-standard configuration" as the Pilot kept informing us), and we were escorted down the runway by a phalanx of emergency vehicles. The pilot was excellent and kept us informed throughout.
Flying round a massive storm over the dolomites on another occaision was pretty amazing to see.
And I once flew with a Captain Sergeant
Flying round a massive storm over the dolomites on another occaision was pretty amazing to see.
And I once flew with a Captain Sergeant
My wife once attended to woman who'd gone into premature labour on a flight back from New York. The woman was expecting twins it turned out, so wifey (a mid-wife, usefully) had to do everything she could to slow things down, and also advise the Captain on whether he should risk landing at Gander (we could land there but risky, and only limited medical facilities there and we'd not be able to take off again until the spring, or something) or push on for Heathrow. OPted for latter as nice and warm in the airliner. Mrs Y made all sorts of improvised medical gear out of catering packs, and those tubes air comes out of when you're about to crash. They had zero medical equipment on board. Anyway, contractions settle down and we made it back to London, best thing was that we came straight in and off the plane, quickest approach and disembarkation I've ever done.
Had several jump seat landings in the days beore 9/11 and one of the best was from Belfast to Heathrow on a quiet evening flight that was almost empty. I enquired about a visit to the flightdeck as I boarded and almost before I reached my seat I was asked if I'd like to sit in on the takeoff. I got talking to the pilots and stayed there for the whole flight admiring the spectacular views on a crystal clear winter's night. The visibility seemed limitless and we could easily see the lights of the London connurbation as we flew past Manchester. The only thing that seemed to grab the interest of the pilots during the flght was listening to ATC's efforts to encourage the aircaft ahead of us to expedite it's clearance of the runway on which we were about to land! Slightly to my disappointment, it did get off the runway and we didn't have to go around!
Leaving Gatwick once, the aircraft I was on did have an engine failure a few seconds after takeoff, followed by a sedate circuit and landing. Now that would have been interesting from the jump seat! (I never did find out what had happened)
Leaving Gatwick once, the aircraft I was on did have an engine failure a few seconds after takeoff, followed by a sedate circuit and landing. Now that would have been interesting from the jump seat! (I never did find out what had happened)
1) Sat on flight deck of DC-10 landing at DFW as a kid. The 4 parallel runways made a good sight!
2) Being on the flightdeck of a A320 from LHR to BSL with a friend's Dad flying. Remember him saying the best thing about the airbus was being able to have a proper meal off a dinner tray in front of you as no yoke in the way.
3) AA86 ORD-LHR being delayed as we had to taxi halfway back to the airport for a piece of paper to be pass up to the pilots from a cherry picker for them to grab through the opening window. I think it was the customs clearance or manifesto.
4) AA DFW to ORD flight, circling ORD for an hour then diverting to St Louis, where wind shear hit as we landed. BIG bounce... engineers had to check aircraft over before we could take off and head to ORD. Arrived about 6 hours late.
5) Standing at a check in desk for 80 minutes at DFW as they tried to sort out my DFW-ORD-LHR flight as all flights DFW-ORD has been cancelled so far that day due to bad weather. The flight she had re-booked me onto was cancelled before she could complete the transaction so my booking just disappeared into the ether!
6) Lots of thunderstorms on BOS-DFW flights. Always a lot of turbulence and you can feel/see the pilot trying to pick a route around all the CB.
7) Being served a bloody mary by the captain of IND-ORD flight as the 1st cabin was boarded and they then delayed the flight holding everyone else back in the terminal. As cabin only had about 6 people in it, and Captain was obviously bored he put on an apron and came out for a chat/to serve us drinks.
8) Waiting at gate at DFW for flight to ORD. FLight gets cancelled and a massive scrum forms instantly. I know the next flight goes from a different terminal so start running that way. I dive into the Admirals Club lounge there and get myself transfered onto the next flight, and upgraded with vouchers. I then board the flight. We then wait on the ground for about 50 minutes as all the other people from my original flight slowly appear and bored. With a few muttering about how they had a 1st class ticket but were downgraded as 1st was full... as I sit there sipping a G&T! :-)
2) Being on the flightdeck of a A320 from LHR to BSL with a friend's Dad flying. Remember him saying the best thing about the airbus was being able to have a proper meal off a dinner tray in front of you as no yoke in the way.
3) AA86 ORD-LHR being delayed as we had to taxi halfway back to the airport for a piece of paper to be pass up to the pilots from a cherry picker for them to grab through the opening window. I think it was the customs clearance or manifesto.
4) AA DFW to ORD flight, circling ORD for an hour then diverting to St Louis, where wind shear hit as we landed. BIG bounce... engineers had to check aircraft over before we could take off and head to ORD. Arrived about 6 hours late.
5) Standing at a check in desk for 80 minutes at DFW as they tried to sort out my DFW-ORD-LHR flight as all flights DFW-ORD has been cancelled so far that day due to bad weather. The flight she had re-booked me onto was cancelled before she could complete the transaction so my booking just disappeared into the ether!
6) Lots of thunderstorms on BOS-DFW flights. Always a lot of turbulence and you can feel/see the pilot trying to pick a route around all the CB.
7) Being served a bloody mary by the captain of IND-ORD flight as the 1st cabin was boarded and they then delayed the flight holding everyone else back in the terminal. As cabin only had about 6 people in it, and Captain was obviously bored he put on an apron and came out for a chat/to serve us drinks.
8) Waiting at gate at DFW for flight to ORD. FLight gets cancelled and a massive scrum forms instantly. I know the next flight goes from a different terminal so start running that way. I dive into the Admirals Club lounge there and get myself transfered onto the next flight, and upgraded with vouchers. I then board the flight. We then wait on the ground for about 50 minutes as all the other people from my original flight slowly appear and bored. With a few muttering about how they had a 1st class ticket but were downgraded as 1st was full... as I sit there sipping a G&T! :-)
We made an uneventful flight to Cephalonia and during the FA I noticed we seemed to be faffing about more than normal, eventually we started to actually make the landing approach but as we were about to touch down the pilot gave all the engines full bore and pulled up again, we then settled into a big circle for about 45 mins as other aircraft took off and landed.
We then landed as normal and nothing was said about the (almost) touch and go.
My Wifes sister worked in the terminal and was expecting us so when I asked what the hell had happened to the original landing she told me that the Air traffic Control had given permission to land and then f
ked off outside for a smoke, got sidetracked and forgot to get back on the radio to give any further intructions, The Pilots were ok to approach but once they had had several no responses from the tower thought it best to abort.
Got to love the Greek way of doing it.
We then landed as normal and nothing was said about the (almost) touch and go.
My Wifes sister worked in the terminal and was expecting us so when I asked what the hell had happened to the original landing she told me that the Air traffic Control had given permission to land and then f
ked off outside for a smoke, got sidetracked and forgot to get back on the radio to give any further intructions, The Pilots were ok to approach but once they had had several no responses from the tower thought it best to abort.Got to love the Greek way of doing it.
Was waiting to have my bags checked at a small UK airport (in the early 00s) and the chap in front of me was asked to unlock the metal box he was carrying for inspection. He fiddled with the lock for what seemed like ages - much to the annoyance of the young lad doing the checking - and when he opened it there were several hundred rounds of 9mil and an MP5 in bits. Look on the lads face was priceless 
Flying to Kinchasa from Madrid in the 1980s. Semi pissed and dozing in my seat the plane suddenly dropped violently then shot up again and continued on its way. Food, drink and everything not tied down spread everywhere, and a passenger with a broken forearm and several other bruised and battered.
Deeply scary, turbulence.
Deeply scary, turbulence.
eldar said:
Flying to Kinchasa from Madrid in the 1980s. Semi pissed and dozing in my seat the plane suddenly dropped violently then shot up again and continued on its way. Food, drink and everything not tied down spread everywhere, and a passenger with a broken forearm and several other bruised and battered.
Deeply scary, turbulence.
People always laugh at me when I tell them to wear a seatbelt all the time :-) A friends wife had her arm broken on the way back from S.A. a fews years ago, clear air turbulence can be properly violent!Deeply scary, turbulence.
Was standing in immigration queue at Las Vegas one cold January afternoon in 2006 and the Manchester flight arrived just after us...was quite surprised to see 4 little manchunians looking a little self-conscious having to wait in line with everybody else - it was the newly reformed Take That! They stayed in our Hotel and one of our sales girls managed to bag Mark Owen's Mobile Number!
Had a landing so hard in the Azores that the overhead Luggage bins openned! (TAP 727)
On landing in Izmir, Turkey the steering tiller does not work (Monarch A320) so we stop on the Runway itself and the Captain calls for a tow truck...there follows a hilarious sequence of events with the Captain telling us with a very dry sense of Humour and deep exasperation what is going on
"OK, I requested 1 tow truck and we now have approximately 11 vehicles with yellow flashing lights approaching...."
"...Of the 11 Vehicles not one is a tow truck, so I have aksed again and can see the next wave of yellow lights approaching..."
"...no still no tow truck...oh hang on (captain is now shouting out of the DV panel at someone on the ground) sorry folks, i just can't seem to make them understand that all I want is a tow truck...they are now sending a third wave of vehicles...."
and it went on until in the end they sent some buses to disembark us
Had a landing so hard in the Azores that the overhead Luggage bins openned! (TAP 727)
On landing in Izmir, Turkey the steering tiller does not work (Monarch A320) so we stop on the Runway itself and the Captain calls for a tow truck...there follows a hilarious sequence of events with the Captain telling us with a very dry sense of Humour and deep exasperation what is going on
"OK, I requested 1 tow truck and we now have approximately 11 vehicles with yellow flashing lights approaching...."
"...Of the 11 Vehicles not one is a tow truck, so I have aksed again and can see the next wave of yellow lights approaching..."
"...no still no tow truck...oh hang on (captain is now shouting out of the DV panel at someone on the ground) sorry folks, i just can't seem to make them understand that all I want is a tow truck...they are now sending a third wave of vehicles...."
and it went on until in the end they sent some buses to disembark us
stoocake said:
On an internal Ryan Air flight, the pilot misjudged the landing somewhat...I think he thought the runway way 100 feet lower down than it actually was...slammed into the deck with a hell of a force. I didn't know planes could bounce. It's the only time on a flight when the seatbelt has been of any use.
I'm not sure you understood the thread title: "Unusual airliner passenger experiences" - that's quite normal for RyanAir 
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