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Thread: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

  1. #1
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    Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    Found myself thinking about a few instances where I was on flights that had some mechanical problem and was curious to hear other people's stories about what has broken on an airplane and caused your flight to delay. Here are a few stories of mine:

    February 2000: TWA Flight# 12 JFK-SJU on a 767-200, we pushed back from T5 gate 25 and started up one engine when the pilot announced that they could not start the other engine. We ended up taxiing over to the maintenance ramp hardstand area across from the terminal and shutting down where the pilot told us that the valve that directs the air into the starter was stuck and they would have to use a long pole type of tool in order to unstick the valve and hold it until they could get the engine spinning fast enough to start. They tried twice to start the engine before it actually lit, which was pretty cool to listen to. Once started, they did some paperwork and we went on our way. The total delay was around 2 hours.

    November 2003: American 667 JFK-SXM on a 757, after deicing we got onto runway 31L, pushed the engines up only to have them throttle back down again. We taxiied back to T9 where maintenance came onboard. Apparently a flight attendant called the flight deck that they heard a suspicious noise coming from below the floor of the passenger cabin. They found that a potable water tank bracket had come loose. 15 minutes to fix, and an hour and a half to do the paperwork with the Tulsa maintenance base. Total delays was 3 hours.

    January 2007: American 347 from LGA-ORD on an MD-80, we had a cockpit instrument fail. The flight was delayed about 45 minutes, but I got on as a standby so I was much earlier than I expected anyway.

    February 2007: jetBlue 1028 from JFK-SYR on an A320, it started to blizzard for the 10:40PM flight and apparently the bleed valve controlling the wing anti-ice system had gotten stuck. The solution apparently is to manually force the valve open and secure it open so it is continuously running. After an hour for the mechanical and almost two hours in line and deicing, we had a total delay of almost 3.5 hours. Not good for interviews beggining at 8:30AM the next day.

    So, tell some of your stories about mechanical issues. This is purely out of curiousity, mostly driven by the TWA incident since I was thinking about T5 recently.
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  2. #2
    Administrator PhilDernerJr's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    I was in Qatar and a flap message showed up in the cockpit, and it was not deferrable. I ended up having to sleep on a tent in the base for a day while it was fixed. That's the only serious delay I've had.
    Email me anytime at [email protected].

  3. #3
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    7/8/07- DAL411 JFK-SEA 8:38AM scheduled departure

    5:30AM- Pouring rain; woke up...
    6:55AM- Left the house
    7:00AM-9:00AM- Grand Central was flooded, FDR was flooded, all highways, and roads slowed to a crawl. Flight was scheduled for an 8:38AM departure. Finally arrived at JFK at 9:00AM. Flight delayed, thankfully, so the airplane was still at the gate. Announced departure at 9:10AM. Literally SPRINTED to the checked baggage drop and then to the gate.

    9:05AM- At the gate. Mom can't find boarding pass. Almost full-out panic.
    9:12AM- Finally finds pass; board airplane and see that about 10% of the passengers were boarded. :roll:
    10:00AM- Still at the gate, captain informs us we have a faulty APU and they couldn't close the aft cargo door. Captain announced hand cranking needed ("about 5 minutes, and we should be on our way.") Full sun comes out, heats up to around 85-90F in the cabin (no A/C). A/C truck delivered- no change in temperature.

    10:55AM- A/C truck is taken away. Engine #1 started in attempt to get A/C. Failed attempt. Cabin is still 85-90F. Still cranking that cargo door?! 5 minutes?! Ice and tiny bottles of Dasani are handed out.

    11:18AM- Passengers were given a chance to deplane. No one did. Extra bottled water needed; we wait for food truck...
    11:30AM- Loaded up and ready to depart. Enter runway queue.
    12:12AM- Rotation off of JFK's 31L. AVOD system is inoperable and is shut down.

    Inflight- Getting worked up about the meal and feeling dismayed upon discovering it was an epic phail.
    Delta's "Meal"= 4 wheat crackers, 25 raisins, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 tiny bottle of Dasani.

    2:22PM- Landing 16R at KSEA

    Food Consumption between 7AM and 2:30PM= Delta's idea of "lunch"


    Oh, and on the return flight, they lost our 2 of 4 checked bags. Delivered them about 4-5 days later.

  4. #4
    Senior Member cancidas's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    this was 1998 i think: i took a C172RG to BDR, was perfroming a touch-and-go when all of a sudden my airspeed went from around 70kts to zero. i flew back to FRG without and airspeed indicator because there was only one installed on the airplane and i hadn't bought my GPS yet. i had impaled a bee with my pitot tube.

    just recently i was flying the boss' Bell 222 to JRB in the morning when he noticed a burnt plastic smell and smoke in the cabin of the helo. a few seconds later the cabin was filled and i made an emergency landing at ISP at about 605L, just after the tower there had opened. we shut down everything electrical after talking to the tower and informing them of the problem and set the helo down on the numbers of rwy 6 and was met by ARFF. it was the power supply for the radios that shorted out and started burning.

    flying commercially i was only delayed once due to mx, on a DAL 767 from JFK-PHX back in 2001. one of the aft lavs needed attention and we left the gate about 45 min late.
    it is mathematically impossible for either hummingbirds, or helicopters to fly. fortunately, neither are aware of this.

  5. #5
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    runaway throttle on departure taxi from sao paolo, in a DC10F, no company mx on the field spent two and a half days while our number 2 was replaced.

  6. #6
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    Its always the litle things that give you the longest delays. Like some guy taking an extra set of manuals that belong in the aircraft home with him.....that will set you bak a couple of hours as the company fax's all 500 pages to you. :!:

  7. #7
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    I have experianced many mechanical delays over the years but my very first probably yielded the best story so her goes.

    As some of you know I grew up near Tampa and when I was 8 years old my dad took me to MIA for the day to see a bigger and busier airport and take my first commerical airline flight ( I had flown once with my uncle in a C-172). We flew down on a National DC-8-21 arriving in MIA about 0830. After a full morning of spotting (1968 style) and nice lunch on top of the Miami Airport Hotel overlooking the entire airport it was time to go home, and we had intentially booked NA422 a 727-100 that operated MIA-FMY-SRQ-TPA-JAX-CHS-ORF-PHL-EWR and departed MIA at 1455. My dad and I where the only two in First Class and about 20 mins after boarding a mechanical delay was announced from the cockpit. Not really sure what was wrong but after about 4 further updates and about 6 ginger ale's National Dispatch decided to move all the paxs for FMY and SRQ to the 1655 depature on the 727-200 next door and operate 422 MIA-TPA nonstop so that it would not be so late for it's remaining 5 legs. I was dissapointed at missing FMY and SRQ but the bonus we got more than made up for it, my dad and I where now the only passengers as most normal MIA-TPA paxs toook nonstops. We departed around 1700 after a delay only slightly longer than 2 hours and once at cruise the 4 beautiful National stewardesses joined my dad in First Class and this well behaved 8 year kid was told he was free to roam the empty cabin for a few minutes. What a big thrill it was and I took a window seat over the wing and took my first wing shot with my Kodak instamatic, and that shot still survives today im my first photo album. If your still reading sorry so long but what a great first airline trip and mechnaical delay !

    Cheers

    LGA777

  8. #8
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    Mine is gonna take the cake!

    Few months ago...

    Was on an Eagle flight from LGA to CLE?(can't remember). 30 Minutes after boarding, the captain comes on and says we are having a mx difficulty on board the aircraft, we'll be holding for another 20 minutes or so. There were a lot of mx guys up in the front galley and I expected to hear something bad in the cockpit, but no... This one almost made the entire coach class riot. The captain comes on and says, "uhhhhh, Ladies and Gentleman, the real reason why we're sitting on the ground is because the microwave in the front galley is broken and we can't heat up the cookies." Me and a few others were about to jump out of our seats. And the capt. wasn't lying, I saw the guys take the microwave and replace it. Unbelievable...
    "lol retart"

  9. #9
    Senior Member Iberia A340-600's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    The two most memorable technical difficulties that I've had were both on Continental. Once was on an MD-80 back in 1998 flying between MCO and EWR and the other was last May flight EWR-GRU on a 767-200.

    1998 Continental MD-80 MCO-EWR: We taxied onto the runway and were on our way for rotation when one of the engines backfired and shut down so we had to taxi back to the terminal and were put on a later MCO-EWR flight which was operated by the DC-10!

    May 25, 2007 CO31 EWR-GRU 767-200: After boarding had finished we were sitting at the gate and since we were seated in the mini cabin on the -200 I could see that the flight attendants were having some sort of trouble around the door. About 30 minutes later the captain comes on and tells us they can't close the main cabin door so they had to call mechanics. About an hour later the mechanics finally showed up and they fixed the problem in about 45 minutes and we headed towards the runway and departed. Unfortunately the pilot wasn't able to make up much of the 2 hour delay so we ended up missing our GOL connection to SSA and ended up having to buy new tickets for the next flight.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Ari707's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    Had and aborted take off on an AA 757 LGA-MIA, ground proximity warning started going off as we are rolling down the runway, after the stop, the plane was completely quiet, until the capt. got on and explained, taxied to gate, time to fix, about 45min 1 hr, and about another 1.5 hrs back in line for take off, missed fist connection to GCM but made the next flight and were only a few hrs late to start our vacation

    back in 83 or 84 was flyin LY JFK_TLV 747-200 it was Jan. and the cargo door froze open, they had to build a tent around the door and heat it. about 2-3 hrs delay.

    America West flight JFK-PHX A 320, 8am flight,on the flight in the jetway damaged the door and it wouldn't shut, since we had checked in early and we had a close connection to get to Reno, they put us and another couple in a cab to EWR at 7am to make an 8am flight, cab flew down the belt and we flew through the airport to the fartherest gate possible and made the flight, luggage caught up with us later that night.
    Overheard on JFK TOWER - S Turns are fine, U-Turns are bad....

  11. #11
    Senior Member RDU-JFK's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    2003: On an ATA flight from MDW to LGA on a 752--we skirted thuderstorms for the entire flight and the weather was still poor over NYC so we held for a bit before diverting to PHL. On approach to PHL we had a birdstrike--hit the cockpit windscreen which delayed us about 3 hours. I saw it as we deplaned in PHL--pretty gross but cool.

    2007: On a United A319 from DEN-LGA: We took off from DEN but apparently the right landing gear was "a bit hot" so we had to hold our flight level at 2500 ft with gear down to cool it off, and departing traffic behind us was slowed. I was listening to channel 9 the whole time, and it was pretty neat to hear everyone working together to resolve the issue.

    2002: Not mechanical but apparently there was a stowaway in the cargohold of our KLM MD-11 flying from AMS-JFK (thats what the announcement was). We were surrounded by police vehicles at AMS and the aircraft was searched. Nothing else was said, but a middle eastern family of 3 was removed from the aircraft shortly thereafter.
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  12. #12
    Moderator Matt Molnar's Avatar
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    Re: Mechanical Issues When Travelling

    In 2003, a few friends and I boarded an America West 757 to fly their 9am JFK-LAS service. After everyone boarded and it seemed we were about to push back, it was discovered that the cockpit windshield was cracked. We were forced to deplane and collect our luggage, then head to the ticket desk to either wait for it to be fixed or make new arrangements. Tony Bennett was sitting in first class, and got whisked to a new flight immediately. But with only 3 agents handling what seemed to be dozens of people overbooked for our flight, plus people checking in for a couple of Phoenix flights and the 11am Vegas flight, plus all the people who boarded our flight, it took 3 hours to get to the head of the line. By that time they had given up on fixing our plane and our flight had officially been canceled, the 11am flight had already left and we had to wait for the next one at 7pm.

    Total delay: 10 hours, cost us a full day of vacation. They gave us some vouchers to use in T7's sorry food court and for free drinks on board.

    Surprisingly, after about 6 months of haggling back and forth with America West management, we got three checks equivalent to what we paid for one night of each of our three hotel rooms as compensation for losing a day in Vegas, about $160 each.
    Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem.
    All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control.
    I trust you are not in too much distress. —Captain Eric Moody, British Airways Flight 9

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