Flight 772 (Wine for Breakfast)

[Raven]

the last leg of my wifes trip home from florida
turned into a grueling Fiasco

The weather started getting rough
the plane could not even land...trying twice
but couldn't see or find the run way

The fuel was about gone so they detoured from
tf green over to hartford... ct. with no clear weather til noonish

so i've been driving from 9pm last night til 6 am this morning (except for the baggage claim time
that never happened ) IN PEA SOUP FOG

and now i'm totally Jacked up on the thermos of coffee i thought to bring and have to radically unwind for awhile..... tough trip!!!

SOME Italian Pinot Grigio and some other Spirits ought to do the trick then i'll crash like a felled tree in the forest....

[JohnR]

Weather happens. The alternative was that you tie the low altitude record.

Someone I respected had the similar issue a few months back. Weather below minimums and exaggerated loss of fuel. The alternative airport was below minimums. He is no longer with us.

Yes, it sucks, yes it inconvenient. But it is there for a reason.

[GattaFish]

Unfortunately you can't control the weather and since Providence is most likely not certified for cat II and absolutely not cat III approaches that's what happens. Its the nature of the business.

Lets also not forget the incident many years ago at PVD with the United airplane that got lost in the fog after landing. Its better to be safe...

[fishbones]

I consider any flight that I walk off the plane from a success. If having to go a couple hours out of your way so the plane could land safely is that much of an inconvenience, you could always buy your wife a bus ticket for her next trip.

[striperman36]

I with John and John, any time you can get off the plane it's a success.

East Coast travel in the spring is chancy, particularly in the PM.

Many stories we all can tell. Glad she's home safe, next time get her on a train

[The Dad Fisherman]

That's what I alway say....The Only thing an airline owes me is a Safe Landing

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by fishbones

I consider any flight that I walk off the plane from a success. If having to go a couple hours out of your way so the plane could land safely is that much of an inconvenience, you could always buy your wife a bus ticket for her next trip.

I hear you. I'm not the biggest fan of travel and most of my trips are cross country. As soon as the bumps start, it's "miss, can I have a gin and tonic please?"

However, the ever popular "you could've take a bus" comment is a pet peeve of mine. Unlike in Europe, travel by ground is frequently an impossible option.

[Sea Dangles]

John Madden did it.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

John Madden did it.

With all travel paid for by the tv networks and the NFL. He also had 3-5 days to travel from one place to another in a bus charted solely for him and a broadcasting schedule that was created around his specific travel prohibitions. If John Madden was doing it in a Greyhound bus with torn, crap stained seats, with 10 stops between destinations... then you'd have a point.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by GattaFish

Unfortunately you can't control the weather

Lets also not forget the incident many years ago at PVD with the United airplane that got lost in the fog after landing. Its better to be safe...

While those are both true statements

the airlines kept everyone there waiting unnecessarily thinking
wishfully that they were going to re attempt a landing at T F Green
for a third time when in reality it was never going to happen at least not til almost noon today..

I could have been on my way to Hartford CT Bradley airport which i had never been to...
i had no maps , no GPS , so i was in a real quagmire with absolutely nothing open ...no one to ask...

so i have to blame (chide) myself for leaving the maps in the other car
and not having appropriate technology to find it on my own.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by Raven

While those are both true statements

the airlines kept everyone there waiting unnecessarily thinking
wishfully that they were going to re attempt a landing at T F Green
for a third time when in reality it was never going to happen at least not til almost noon today..

I could have been on my way to Hartford CT Bradley airport which i had never been to...
i had no maps , no GPS , so i was in a real quagmire with absolutely nothing open ...no one to ask...

so i have to blame (chide) myself for leaving the maps in the other car
and not having appropriate technology to find it on my own.

You might want to rethink your response to GattaFish, as he may know a little more about airplanes and flying than you, considering he's a pilot. Also, how can you know for sure that they were not going to attempt another landing at TFG if the weather improved?

As for not having a gps, maybe you could have borrowed one from your bank?

[basswipe]

I'm not going to get into a story here but your journey and my trip to the 2003 Daytona 500 have some similarities.I truly feel your pain.

Back then when I got home I smoked a bone and had a cold beer.I don't do the smoking thing anymore but if that type of trip happened again I'd probably smoke a bone and have cold beer.

[Saltheart]

Too bad you had trouble finding Bradley. Its about a 90 minute ride normally. Sometimes I wonder why they don't just get a big bus and drive you the 90 minutes. I suppose they need to get the plane to Providence at some point so they keep trying.

I travelled professionally for years and got stranded many times. Trick is to go with the flow. Don't get all anxious and beat your own brains out mentally. Eventually you get there safely.

[Raven]

it was the FOG

I was actually listening to the Captain speaking to the passengers aboard my wife's plane....
via our cell phone conversation...

I have no issues with their decision to go refuel in Connecticut and or the inability to land.... in Providence

my gripe is how long they took to inform us that the plane had gone to Bradley and that we had
the OPTION of going (driving) there instead of waiting til Noon the next day for the weather to clear.

[GregW]

Originally Posted by fishbones

I consider any flight that I walk off the plane from a success. If having to go a couple hours out of your way so the plane could land safely is that much of an inconvenience, you could always buy your wife a bus ticket for her next trip.

I am certainly no expert on flights, seeing as I've jumped out of more than I've landed on, but I have to agree. I'd rather have myself or family be safe.

[GattaFish]

Originally Posted by Raven

it was the FOG

I was actually listening to the Captain speaking to the passengers aboard my wife's plane....
via our cell phone conversation...

I have no issues with their decision to go refuel in Connecticut and or the inability to land.... in Providence

my gripe is how long they took to inform us that the plane had gone to Bradley and that we had
the OPTION of going (driving) there instead of waiting til Noon the next day for the weather to clear.

Absolutely, see why your upset.... this is not something that is new... Fog is one of the toughest weather phenomenons to deal with. Extremely unpredictable and can change with just a slight breeze or quick shower which can increase visibility...

The problem is there are many people that would not been as lucky to have someone to pick them up in Hartford as you would have done with your wife so decisions take a while to be made. Next you cant have people get off the plane and their luggage still be on the airplane.... TSA stuff... If one comes off they all come off.

Finally, the airline will do everything possible to get the flight to reach its original destination for customers but more so operationally makes sense to them. Sometimes that requires decisions from multiple people, ATC, dispatch, management and then the final authority (captain) but he is only responsible to fly and complete the flight safely and within the FAR's and company guidelines. Its not just a quick decision unfortunately. I can say that adding customs and international flights makes it even more complicated......

Now the kicker... If your wife waited until noon the next day the airline is not responsible for a hotel since it was weather related. Mechanical, the airline is responsible...

The positive I see is that the Captain tried to keep everyone informed but was only able to do that with the information he was given....

[GattaFish]

Originally Posted by GregW

I am certainly no expert on flights, seeing as I've jumped out of more than I've landed on, but I have to agree. I'd rather have myself or family be safe.

Hmmmm,,, I am starting to connect the dots.......

[Raven]

Originally Posted by GattaFish

Absolutely, see why your upset.... this is not something that is new... Fog is one of the toughest weather phenomenons to deal with. Extremely unpredictable and can change with just a slight breeze or quick shower which can increase visibility...

The problem is there are many people that would not been as lucky to have someone to pick them up in Hartford as you would have done with your wife so decisions take a while to be made. Next you cant have people get off the plane and their luggage still be on the airplane.... TSA stuff... If one comes off they all come off.

Finally, the airline will do everything possible to get the flight to reach its original destination for customers but more so operationally makes sense to them. Sometimes that requires decisions from multiple people, ATC, dispatch, management and then the final authority (captain) but he is only responsible to fly and complete the flight safely and within the FAR's and company guidelines. Its not just a quick decision unfortunately. I can say that adding customs and international flights makes it even more complicated......

Now the kicker... If your wife waited until noon the next day the airline is not responsible for a hotel since it was weather related. Mechanical, the airline is responsible... ( They passed out Cots instead)

The positive I see is that the Captain tried to keep everyone informed but was only able to do that with the information he was given....

yes he kept the people on Board notified thats great...
you see it was my first experience with FOG and a flight diverted..... we rarely fly

AT) T F Green you cannot see planes land that i could see... (my first time using that airport)
because i had no way of knowing even where she was...
absolutely nothing was announced for what seemed like forever...

until they finally announced a third attempt strategy after the refueling Plan in CT

so i went back to the VAN to drink even more coffee....
the wife calls and i could hear the announcement that they'd try around 11:30 am .... it was then 1:30 am

I had the dingo in a cage (pen) back home and wasn't about to
leave her there that long... cooped up.. no friggan way

had i anticipated the fog i could have had her with me...

no disrespect meant Gattafish

[GattaFish]

No worries at all,,,, I totally understand,,,,