Saturday, September 21, 2024

Adventures in Flying: When Things Go Wrong


My first trip in a free seat from frequent flyer miles, was from Lexington, Kentucky to San Francisco. I had been scheduled to present a training in Santa Rosa, California, and I had booked a prepaid non-refundable hotel in San Francisco for a long weekend after the program, adding a couple of personal days onto the work trip. The training was cancelled at the last minute, and I was left with a choice of walking away from the pre-paid hotel, or flying to California on my own dime.  I had enough miles with Delta to get a free round trip, and I wanted to spend a couple of days in the City by the Bay.  It was a great little getaway.  The trip out was easy. 

The return flight was San Francisco to Atlanta, a change of planes in Atlanta and onto Lexington. The plane from SFO to ATL was newer and well equipped.  I was watching the Lethal Weapon movie that was filmed in Orlando (they imploded City hall for the film) at about 40,000 feet someplace over Texas when the lights went out.  Not the lights in the movie, the lights on the plane.  A minute or so later, the captain came on the speakers, saying there was a little problem with the electrical system, and would be stopping in Dallas, would the flight attendants please prepare the cabin for landing.  Less than ten minutes later we were on the ground in Dallas. When we rolled up the gate, there was smoke coming out the engine cowling on my side.  

More on the technical side, there are three electrical generating systems on a twin engine jet airliner, one in each engine, and a third one in a small jet engine in the tail that is used for power on the ground (the APU.) One of the main generators had failed, and when it went down, it overloaded the other one and shut it down. The flight crew restarted the APU in the tail, it supplied power for essential systems for a safe landing. Airplanes have lots of backup systems for safety, and pilots spend years practicing what to do when something goes wrong. 

Delta called in the troops that night, I was led to another gate and onto another plane to Atlanta within minutes of landing.  I arrived in Atlanta after the last flight to Lexington.  I was loaded on the crew bus and taken to a very nice hotel for the night, and on the first flight out the next day. 

In years of flying that is my only emergency landing. It was a little  unnerving - - - but I know the pilots are professionals and planes are built with lots of backup safety systems.  A couple of weeks later I was back in the air headed out for the next training. 

A friend of mine was traveling cross country with her 8 year old, when the oxygen masks dropped down, and they had an emergency landing someplace in the middle of the country.  She was worried that her son would be terrified at the idea of getting on the next flight, instead he said, "I wonder if the oxygen masks will drop again, that was so exciting."  Her worry, not his.    

18 comments:

  1. Have you ever counted up how many flights you have taken in your life? It seems like rather a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Modern aeroplanes rarely seem to go wrong so it slightly concerns me that when problems do strike the air crew's training may have become rusty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of the training is about handling emergencies.

      Delete
  3. I have never had an issue with planes while in the air; I have had flights cancelled right after boarding and pulling away from the gates. Not scary just an inconvenience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have gone back to the gate for a repair a few times.

      Delete
  4. I'm lucky, I've never experienced anything quite like that. I have had planes turn around right after take off and go back and I had one pull out of a landing at what seemed like the last minute. That one was a bit disturbing but the airline down-played it as no big deal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The last minute go around can be "exciting."

      Delete
  5. I don't think there has ever been an emergency on a plane that I have flown on - at least, not that I knew of! (Knock on wood)! I have a flight coming up in October to Houston. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That was my only emergency landing. I have written a whole series of these posts, including when things go thud on the ground. I have been on two airplanes that had ground "incidents."

      Delete
  6. Ah, kids! I have never (and I hope I don’t end up regretting telling you) ... never been on a plane in an emergency landing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I always try to get direct flights if I can. I HATE lay overs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have lived in places where you had to change planes to go to hell.

      Delete
  8. Youngsters are impressionable but in a different way from "adults".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Different ideas of fun, unless the adults share their fears.

      Delete
  9. Hellish tales of travel keep my from traveling.

    ReplyDelete