Horror Stories

[justapax]

Originally Posted by PAXboy

Reminds that there used to be many such, I particularly remember:
BOAC = Better On A Camel.
SABENA = Such a Bloody Experience Never Again

A pretty full list at Airline Acronyms

[artee]

Originally Posted by barry lloyd

Georgian Airways about 15 years ago. Flying Tblisi-Batumi. The alternatives at the time were at least eight hours on a train or seven hours in a minibus. The flight takes an hour. Checked-in, and we are bussed to a remote stand where a Yak-42 awaits. Pax board via the rear stairs, and everything seems OK until there's an argument at the back. Captain (I assume he was the captain - white shirt, black trousers, no epaulettes, but with a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth), wanders down the cabin, and the argument continues for several more minutes until I hear the doors close. All the seats are occupied. The captain returns to the flight deck, followed by one of the pax, while three others remain standing in the cabin. We take off with the standing pax holding onto the nearest flimsy seats. A gentle landing at Batumi ensures that the standing pax are in pole position to leave the aircraft. The return flight was presumably not overbooked: there were no standing pax.

There was the apocryphal story of the BOAC? BEA? pilot who used to wait until the passengers were all seated and would then walk to the cockpit from the back of the plane carrying a copy of "Teach Yourself Flying".

[justapax]

Originally Posted by artee

There was the apocryphal story of the BOAC? BEA? pilot who used to wait until the passengers were all seated and would then walk to the cockpit from the back of the plane carrying a copy of "Teach Yourself Flying".

I heard it as being a KLM pilot who would walk to the front of the cabin, accidentally dropping en route a slim booklet entitled 'How to land the Fokker F27'. Similarly unlikely but I got a laugh out of it.

[Asturias56]

There was the true story of a senior pilot at LoganAir who would sit in the back of the plane dressed in a long Shepherds coat and boots. When the "crew" hadn't turned up he would jump into the pilots seat shouting " If he won't turn up I'll fly the thing myself..."

[Paultheparaglider]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

It wasn't just Aeroflot - there was also Air India ... and Northwest..................... horrible airlines in slave. And Alitalia

I don't often post here, but I thought I would share my own Air India experience.

Ever since I was a young boy I wanted to visit India. I had an uncle who was a missionary priest in Hyderabad in the 50s and 60s, and he once brought me back a small soapstone model of the Taj Mahal which I very much treasured.

Roll on 30 years or so and I finally had my chance. I was living and working in Hong Kong at the time when a good friend was moved to Mumbai and invited my wife and I to come to visit. So, I booked a trip to Mumbai, and added on a trip to Delhi to experience the Dehli / Jaipur / Agra triangle to finally get to the Taj.

I booked the flights on Air India as it was the most convenient airline to book Hong Kong to Mumbai to Dehli to Hong Kong. When I advised my friend of the flight bookings he strongly suggested I reconsider, and book Cathay or Singapore Airlines instead. I decided to ignore his advice as we would be using Air India on the Mumbai to Dehli leg anyway, and multiple bookings would have been a lot of hassle.

The outward leg left HK an hour and a half late. We were delayed waiting for last minute passengers, but the flight made up some time and arrived about an hour late into Mumbai. Not so bad really. The flight a week later to Delhi left on time, and we had a really memorable drive to Jaipur and Agra. Anyone who has been driven around that route will understand what memorable means. But, seriously, I loved every bit of it.

Finally, the leg back to HK, which was a night flight, left on time. I relaxed and settled back into the seat to get some rest, and remarked to my wife that Air India had been OK really.

Famous last words!

15 minutes into the flight my wife commented that we still seemed to be quite low when we should have been at cruising altitude, and when I looked out of the window I could see she was right. We weren't climbing at all. I suggested we tighten out seat belts and prepare for the worst. 10 minutes later, the Captain announced that the landing gear wasn't retracting properly, and that we would be returning to Delhi. Now, aware that the landing gear was playing up didn't inspire confidence in a safe landing, but as it happened the landing was uneventful and we breathed a big sigh of relief.

We taxied back to the terminal but were kept on board. We were told that an inspection had revealed a part was needed that would sort the issue and we could expect a further 2 hour delay. After 3 hours on a hot, sticky aircraft we were told the part needed was unavailable and would have to be flown in from Mumbai the next day. We were deplaned and taken to a hotel for what was left of the night.

The hotel was a dump. The type where brown water came out of the tap, and it was better not to think about the origin of all the stains on the bedding and soft furnishings. By now, though, we were so exhausted we both fell asleep quickly.

In the morning, we were given a breakfast in the dining room that matched the room standard, and were then directed to an Air India office in the hotel. By now, we were running about 12 hours late, and you can imagine the chaos in the office which was packed with a lot of angry passengers. I felt sorry for the poor Air India girl who single handedly had to deal with the fall out that was none of her making.

One angry passenger complained he was going to miss his onward connection to an important business meeting in Taipei, and many others moaned vociferously to the Air India girl who, unfortunately, wasn't able to tell us what was happening. I noticed an Air India internal magazine that proudly announced that their customers thought they were the best airline. When I remarked on this, the person next to me grabbed the magazine, stormed over to the AI representative, tore it into tiny pieces, and threw it over the girl telling her exactly what he thought of the best airline.

To end this long tale, we were eventually put on another aircraft and arrived in HK safely, but over 20 hours late. On a slightly philosophical note, though, such experiences actually make up part of life's rich tapestry, and linger as some of our more memorable moments. The true aviation horror stories lie with those not around to tell them.

[GROUNDHOG]

Early days of Turkish carriers, don't remember exactly which one but 727 IST/LHR. Sat looking at the inside and noticed the galley was not a 727 galley and didn't fit the shape of the cabin! It was a totally different colour as well. There was graffiti on the tray table. Landing was awful with engines throttling up then back constantly and hitting the ground like a lorry load of bricks. Never again!

[kap'n krunch]

About 25 years ago on a beautiful sunny day in business class aboard a United 777 from ORD to IAD. What could possibly go wrong? There was a ground stop for flights heading to the east coast due to WX. Our plane sat on the ground for about 8 hours before returning to the gate because the crew timed out. At least we fortunates up front got some sandwiches. The folks in back got zip. Some 4 hours into the delay, it was announced that drinks and cocktails would be comped.

The crew gave pax the option of disembarking with the caveat that the checked baggage would be continuing to the final destination. Eventually, the flight left about an hour after returning to the gate.

My wife was recovering from back surgery and chose the option to leave. When I hesitated, I got the look that husbands dread and decided to join her. I caught another flight the next morning - by myself.

Apparently, this delay was a big deal as it made major newspapers and I heard about it on the radio. I seem to recall that some legislator may have introduced legislation on a passenger bill of rights regarding the amount of time passengers could be held on a plane.

[PAXboy]

I recall a wet and stormy night around 1996 or 7. Full day at office, then drive to LHR for Orly on an evening BA 767. There was a problem that closed one runway so everything delayed. Because they were hoping to get clearance any minute - no refreshments served, not even to us in Biz. Happily, bitter experience meant that I had a bottle of water and some oat/fruit bars. I also had my laptop. I was OK.

Later they combined two flights into one as we were not full and we were sent to CDG as ORY would be closed for the night. At CDG we were bussed to ORY (where I was booked into an airport hotel). The drive round the Boulevard Périphérique was fine - as long as you did not look out of the window and consider the speed of the bus in drenching rain ... Hotel, snacked and refreshed by the mini-bar i slept at about 02:00.

Got to the client for 09:00 and they said, "What are you doing here today?" Turns out someone had blundered. After a quick meeting, I was promised that I would be paid for the day. I did some shopping and caught an earlier flight home.

[Mr Mac]

Originally Posted by GROUNDHOG

Early days of Turkish carriers, don't remember exactly which one but 727 IST/LHR. Sat looking at the inside and noticed the galley was not a 727 galley and didn't fit the shape of the cabin! It was a totally different colour as well. There was graffiti on the tray table. Landing was awful with engines throttling up then back constantly and hitting the ground like a lorry load of bricks. Never again!

Groundhog
They did have a truly awful reputation, and indeed there was book about their DC10 crash which pulled no punches as to what they got up to, and indeed the chaos of what was then Istanbul airport. I have yet to fly with them though colleagues who have speak of them well though new airport stretches your legs apparently if your unlucky with your gates during transfer.

Cheers
Mr Mac

[ZFT]

Use THY fairly often. Very good operation IMHO

[Asturias56]

"Got to the client for 09:00 and they said, "What are you doing here today?" "

Once, when working in London I was called up by an old mate from Canada who asked if he could bring his boss and another manager in that morning to shoot the breeze about the UK/European market for an hour. I owed him and so invited them over. It went off Ok but the main man seemed unhappy and the #2 looked very very twitchy. Had a call a couple of days later - they'd flown to London for a meeting and the #2 had got the wrong MONTH.......................

[pulse1]

In nearly thirty years of fairly frequent flying all over the place I cannot remember one flight that would come near the heading of "horror". A couple of flights in Soviet Poland were a bit worrying when I looked at the bald tires as we boarded. I suppose the worst one was a BA777 flight from Denver to LHR. When my wife sat in her middle seat, the seat back collapsed. I called one of the cabin crew and he manhandled the seat back into the upright position and she strapped herself in. As we accelerated for take off the seat collapsed again and I suppose this was a bit horrific. Again I called the cabin crew whose attitude suggested that he thought that having a serviceable seat was a bonus we weren't entitled to. The flight was full and there was nothing he could do. I eventually discovered that there was one free seat in business class and I suggested to the passenger in the aisle seat that we encouraged the cabin crew to let him move. They agreed to this so we eventually settled happily into our aisle and window seats with the space of the faulty seat between us.

Apart from that, the only possible moment of horror was sitting in the jump seat of a BA737 landing at Gatwick, The PF in the right seat flared for landing much too high and tried to correct by lowering the nose. Even I as a simple PPL knew that was going to be interesting and it was. Fortunately all three wheels hit the ground together, with a huge bump. The worst part was that my colleague sitting in the cabin had assumed that they had let me land it.

[cml387]

Point of information, Ireland was very much a member of the EU (well, The EEC then) during the years when Aeroflot had it's stopovers in Shannon.
The link was down to some enterprising mangers in Aer Rianta, who went on to to open and run a duty free shop in Sheremetyevo Airport

[justapax]

Originally Posted by cml387

Point of information, Ireland was very much a member of the EU (well, The EEC then) during the years when Aeroflot had it's stopovers in Shannon.
The link was down to some enterprising mangers in Aer Rianta, who went on to to open and run a duty free shop in Sheremetyevo Airport

Thanks for the correction. Ireland joined the EEC in 1971, IIRC. During which years did the Aeroflot Shannon stopover thing happen?

[cml387]

Originally Posted by Justapax1

Thanks for the correction. Ireland joined the EEC in 1971, IIRC. During which years did the Aeroflot Shannon stopover thing happen?

Checking back it seems to have been started in 1975. Aeroflot paid for the landing fees with jet fuel in a barter deal. And Ireland and the UK joined the EEC in 1973
Having been in Shannon sometimes when the Aeroflot flights were passing through, the passengers were an exotic bunch, but a bit morose.

[justapax]

Originally Posted by cml387

Checking back it seems to have been started in 1975. Aeroflot paid for the landing fees with jet fuel in a barter deal. And Ireland and the UK joined the EEC in 1973
Having been in Shannon sometimes when the Aeroflot flights were passing through, the passengers were an exotic bunch, but a bit morose.

I've only been to Shannon once, in the 1990s, when the place was like a monument to the glamour of aviation in the 40s and 50s, when it was the main first stop-off in Europe for transatlantic Constellations and Stratocruisers and the like. I wish I'd taken photographs. Is it still like that, or has it had the romance of that era modernised out of it?

I spent part of my childhood in Moscow, and am familiar with the Great Slav Soul; when a Russian starts discussing his soul, you know he's had too much to drink, and will become morose, aggressive, or asleep shortly thereafter. You evidently saw them in the morose phase.

[PAXboy]

A quick search for Shannon Airport has many photos. The website of the airport itself - not so much. Only been there once on a LHR-SNN-LHR for a short holiday on Aer Fungus.

[Asturias56]

Originally Posted by cml387

Point of information, Ireland was very much a member of the EU (well, The EEC then) during the years when Aeroflot had it's stopovers in Shannon.
The link was down to some enterprising mangers in Aer Rianta, who went on to to open and run a duty free shop in Sheremetyevo Airport

yes - Aer Rianta led the way to the horrors of the modern shopping centre with a terminal attached. The Irish also introduced Moscow to pubs and St Patricks Day - weird!!

[Asturias56]

"when a Russian starts discussing his soul, you know he's had too much to drink, and will become morose, aggressive, or asleep shortly"

one of the best pieces of advice I ever received was that if you're in any bar anywhere in the world and people start singing about "the old country" or "the old days" drink up quick and get out as the furniture is going to be violently re-arranged in 15 minutes.

[artee]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

"when a Russian starts discussing his soul, you know he's had too much to drink, and will become morose, aggressive, or asleep shortly"

one of the best pieces of advice I ever received was that if you're in any bar anywhere in the world and people start singing about "the old country" or "the old days" drink up quick and get out as the furniture is going to be violently re-arranged in 15 minutes.

How do you know, if you didn't stick around?