Dimitri wrote:
> As you might have imagined over my, well many years, I have flown quite
> a bit. I started flying at the ripe age of 7 about 1950 in the TWA
> Constellation.
I crewed on Connies in 1958 with the Navy. We lost our last passenger
Connie when the pilot knocked the landing gear off on a sea wall coming
out of a Naval Air Station in Nova Scotia. Had to sit on the fuselage
all day waiting for the tide to come in so the crash boat could come and
get us. No one was hurt
>
> I have had many experiences and stories here is one I though I would
> share so we all can lighten our day.
>
> I was taking a red-eye from LAX to Boston for a 2:00 PM appointment with
> an important customer. This flight was routed through the NEW DFW on
> A/A. We left LAX with no problem and got into DFW easily & I boarded
> the 767 I think for a 7:00 AM departure.
>
> Problem. Something was wrong with the computers they told us.
>
> It was hot and the flight attendants had the back door open for some air
> to circulate. So I was standing there chatting with the flight
> attendant just to pass the time. I asked her what was the worst thing
> that ever happened to her on a flight.
>
> She asked if I remembered the AA flight 191 the DC 10 (the 3:00 PM
> flight from Chicago to LA) which lost an engine and wend down? I said of
> course I used to take that flight all the time. She explained their
> normal procedure for AA is to change the time and flight number and the
> time for the next day. For some reason AA forget to do this.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America...nes_Flight_191
>
> She explained then very next day she was part of flight 191 form ORD to
> LAX and they had a brand new attendant right out of training in Dallas.
>
> They departed with a Bang (funny noise). A few minutes later to pilot
> got on the horn and explained they had lose the hydraulic pressure to
> the nose gear steering. The FAA procedure is they would leave the gear
> down - go out over Lake Michigan dump most of their fuel and come back
> in to a runway with all kinds of crash equipment at the ready. He went
> on to explain the gear would stay straight and at landing speeds they
> steer with the tail (vertical stabilizer anyway).
>
> Now I don't know about you but I always keep one eye on the crew. If
> they start breaking out the Champaign and drinking it themselves and
> start playing grabass you know you're in trouble.
>
> As it happens while they were out over the lake dumping fuel and the
> crash equipment was getting in place the brand new flight attendant LOST
> IT!
>
> SHE RAN UP AND DOWN THE AISLES SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY, "WE'RE ALL GOING
> TO DIE"
>
> I said, "my god is this true? What was the reaction of the passengers?"
> She assured me this was true, they had to physically restrain the new
> flight attendant and the passengers, well the passengers simply ignored
> the hysterical flight attendant and went about their business as if
> nothing had happened. She said it was a deafening silence.
>
> They fixed the computer and off we went to Logan 2 hours late none the
> worse for ware.
>
>
> I am sure you have some stories - care to share?
>
>
I've got a funny one: was crewing on an Navy R4Y, Convair 340 twin
engine transport, was about early 1959. Flying between a NAS in Florida
and Guantanomo Bay, Cuba with a full load of about 36 civilian
dependents going to be with their loved ones. As you know the wings on
aircraft flex a bit, on the R4Y's they flexed a bit more. One older
woman (well, old to me, I was about eighteen or nineteen at the
time)pointed out to me that the wing was moving up and down. Told her it
wasn't anything to worry about but to keep an eye on it and let me know
if it quit moving. I think she kept her eyes on that wing for the rest
of the trip.
We had a pilot (Navy called them plane commanders)who was a joker. One
flight we had a full load of Marines we were taking somewhere they were
needed. Pilot strolls down the aisle casually putting on a parachute. I
had my hands full for a little bit. Military transport pilots are all
crazy IMHO. But, Lordy, I did love to fly on those old propeller driven
birds back then. Took us a couple of days to cross the continent back
then and we often followed highways and railroad tracks.