Strange reasons for flight delays

[Denali]

Kudu on the runway and baboons alongside...

Just reminded me.

Lady Elliot Island. Had to stop the cricket game and ask the players to move off the runway for us to depart.

 

[QFflyermelbourne]

My strangest delay occurred about 4 years ago on a MEL-SYD flight; just before pushback a sparrow was found flying around the cabin and had to be caught and ejected before we could depart! Just to add to the interest, I found myself sitting next to John Howard (the ex-PM, not the actor) on this flight. (There is a thread on this in the Qantas forum).

I've had similar before a MEL-PER flight but a whole flock of sparrows! The captain was asking for assistance trying to catch one on the loose in business. He said something like "well this is a first for me in 30 years..." and half way across the country he announced they'd just discovered another one in the coughpit.

 

[Altair]

Departure delayed because of earthquake damage, several flights actually.
Last year flight cancelled as they had to inspect the aircraft for damage due to airbridge hitting the aircraft during the big WLG quake.
Years before an early morning CHC aftershock meant the airport was shut for runway and instrument inspection before it reopened and allowed flights into the airport.
Other time NZ airspace was shut due to the national ATC based in CHC shutdown due to aftershocks.
Also general delays due to volcanic ash does that count as strange reasons?

 

[Ozchorlton]

Cows on the run way...

BA flight December 1984 Bombay - Delay in take off due to football match on the runway - How things have changed!

 

[kermatu]

Not a departure but an arrival. Flying from Fukuoka to Tokyo over 10 years ago, we were about to touchdown (my guess maybe 15 seconds away) when plane put on full thrust. I thought it was just a normal go-around. Pilot made a short announcement only in Japanese. After 20 minutes of circling at a reasonable altitude over the ocean and with several other aircraft doing the same, I asked the lady next to me what the pilot had said - she said earthquake. Fortunately pilot made another announcement a few minutes later, also in English, that operations were resuming. Apparently it was only a small tremor but all ops shutdown for a period of time as a (pre)caution.

Didn't think about it then but knowing how much traffic there is in the area, must be an absolute nightmare if all airports in a region are off limits with no forewarning.

 

[jb747]

In Singapore, back around 2000. A lightning strike took out the regional control centre...which basically meant that nobody was controlling any of the aircraft in the region. Tower, approach, everyone, was off the air. I was very glad that I was on the ground listening to it, and not in the air trying not to run into someone else. A BA pilot, who was obviously an air traffic controller in a previous life, managed to restore some order for a while, until the BA guy himself had to divert.

 

[OzEire]

In Singapore, back around 2000. A lightning strike took out the regional control centre...which basically meant that nobody was controlling any of the aircraft in the region. Tower, approach, everyone, was off the air. I was very glad that I was on the ground listening to it, and not in the air trying not to run into someone else. A BA pilot, who was obviously an air traffic controller in a previous life, managed to restore some order for a while, until the BA guy himself had to divert.

Wow. Is there no backup?

 

[defurax]

Three unusual reasons I can remember:

1- Aircraft starts push back procedure followed by a strange noise and full breaks...the towbar had split in two, now that's a piece of equipment I never thought could fail.

2- To continue on the towing theme. QF9 pushes back from the terminal and after 15 minutes the captain tell us that they are unable to remove the tow truck from the aircraft! JB747 later explained to me that MEL airport had acquired a new type of tow truck which actually lifts the front wheel of the aircraft so that sometimes it's difficult to release the wheel. Took 1 hour to get it sorted.

3-This would not happen in Australia...but we were allowed to board a DL aircraft at JFK and after 1 hour of nothing happening the guy next to me asked the FA if there was a problem. The FA said we didn't have a flight crew as they had been poached by another flight!

 

[Himeno]

Didn't think about it then but knowing how much traffic there is in the area, must be an absolute nightmare if all airports in a region are off limits with no forewarning.

There was a Delta flight heading into NRT, about 100 miles away when the 2011 Tōhoku quake happened. NRT closed. A few flights got cleared into HND, before that also closed. The DL flight headed for NGO, was half way there when it closed. Same for KIX. Yokoda was full. They were told to head to Misawa, then go past that to CTS, where they finally landed after having to declare a fuel emergency to avoid another hold.


Other then a single cancellation since I started flying in 2004, I've been quite 'lucky' for such things. Other then a BA caused misconnect in DXB delaying me for 24 hours, I've never had more then a 2 hour odd delay. Other then that BA mess, all my delays have been the standard ATC congestion, weather or tech issues. Though, there was another flight with a funnyish delay at the next gate to mine once.
I was flying PDX-SEA. Next door was a flight PDX-BOI. The flight was delayed as the toilets weren't working and pax were advised to go before boarding.

 

[jb747]

Wow. Is there no backup?

I guess they didn't quite anticipate this exact failure mode. So, whilst there are backups, they simply didn't work.

Something to think about if you like the idea of pilotless aircraft!

 

[defurax]

I was flying PDX-SEA. Next door was a flight PDX-BOI. The flight was delayed as the toilets weren't working and pax were advised to go before boarding.

I also experienced a toilet episode with the FA mentioning that the "water tank is frozen so if you need to go to the loo come to the front of the aircraft and we will give you a bottle of water to wash your hands". The aircraft had spent the night at minus 30, but I would have though aircraft would have some sort of electrical tank warmer...

 

[Pvcmenace]

Mine was April this year HKG-PVG on Cathay Dragon. Firstly announced catering delays, 20 minutes later the flight attendants turned up not sure about eating the crew? 30 minutes later announced that there was a technical issue and a part was on its way. 40 minutes after this it was installed on the plane and ready to go. 30 minutes after this we boarded and another announcement that the 45 minute delay was traffic in PVG for an eventual landing 3.5 hours late at about 3am. to an empty airport.

 

[jb747]

1- Aircraft starts push back procedure followed by a strange noise and full breaks...the towbar had split in two, now that's a piece of equipment I never thought could fail.

Not particularly common, but common enough that it isn't remarkable. The braking should be gentle, as there's actually a good chance than any immoderate braking will lift the nose off the ground.

2- To continue on the towing theme. QF9 pushes back from the terminal and after 15 minutes the captain tell us that they are unable to remove the tow truck from the aircraft! JB747 later explained to me that MEL airport had acquired a new type of tow truck which actually lifts the front wheel of the aircraft so that sometimes it's difficult to release the wheel. Took 1 hour to get it sorted.

Lifting tugs are fairly common, especially when pushing back large aircraft. They provide a much smoother, better controlled push, without the risk of a broken drawbar. I saw one fail to release in LA earlier this year...took the engineers about 15 minutes with their more subtle tools to get us away. Provided a rather funny video for us to watch.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Scooting down the runway at close to take off speed when all the picks were thrown out for a rather abrupt halt. The Cap't came on the radio to say "Sorry 'bout that, there was a bloody big bird on the runway". The bird turned out to be a cassowary!:shock:

3 or 4 months back a flight was delayed a few days because the airport locals were shooting at the planes!

A month ago, flight delayed a few days because those same locals at the same airport were not happy with the local election results and poured oil and diesel all over the landing zone of the runway and were physically assaulting anyone who tried to enter the airport.

I did have a landing abort and a redirection due to a protest gathering that took place on the runway (different airport).

Apart from that, most of my delays are weather related!

 

[OzEire]

Any chance that is PNG swanning_it ?

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Any chance that is PNG swanning_it ?

I think there is a good chance of it! "PNG, Land of the Unexpected".

Having said that, I also love working here as the one thing I can say ... there's quite genuinely, never a dull moment however most of my trips are relatively uneventful but I do have many, many stories to tell that most people just would not believe are real (don't ask me about my Kokoda training, the pig, the drunks and the state of emergency officers ... I had to wash my underpants after that one)! :mrgreen:

 

[OzEire]

(don't ask me about my Kokoda training, the pig, the drunks and the state of emergency officers ... I had to wash my underpants after that one)! :mrgreen:

Ok, now i HAVE to ask but will buy you a beer first when our paths cross!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Ok, now i HAVE to ask but will buy you a beer first when our paths cross!

A beer! Sold.

This little escapade happened last month when I was out happily training for Kokoda. I was walking along through one of my favourite parts of my "training" track (a lovely wooded forest with ferns, staghorns, moss by the tonne, birds etc) so was blissfully content and in my own little world as I exited the forest and entered the village. I strode around the corner of a house, just as all hell broke loose! It was obviously decided to herald my arrival with an all-in gun fight and within seconds, a stray round had hit a pig that up until then, had been idly foraging about 20m or so away from me. Well, I've never heard such blood curding screams as what came from that pig. My Kokoda practice stroll suddenly turned into an impromptu Stawell Gift sprint ... in the opposite direction!

The impetus for this was some drunk youths deciding to throw rocks at state of emergency police, who apparently didn't appreciate it! Thankfully, the only casualty was the pig (and my underwear) and a few more weapons were seized and some young lads learned the hard way (the er, black and blue bruised and broken nose hard way) that provoking those guys and shooting at them is not the wisest move they could have made that evening. The pig was unfortunately put down, but the upside was that we had a wonderfully tasty pork meal the next night! :-|

 

[JMEL]

I was on an LH flight from Bergen (Norway) to Frankfurt a few years ago. We were already taking off, when I suddenly felt the plane abort the takeoff and come back down, just before the back wheels lifted off the ground. They announced that one of the pilots had suddenly collapsed, and that we would all be rebooked on next-day flights. It was already quite late and they were unable to get replacement staff out to Bergen in time to perform the flight that night.

Luckily, I had deliberately left enough room in my travel schedule and I wasn't due to board my homeward flight (separate PNR) from Frankfurt until almost midnight the next day. I had originally planned to stay that night in Frankfurt, explore the city the next day day and then start the journey home to Australia.

LH put everyone up in a nice airport hotel with a large pool, paid for dinner, and I enjoyed the hotel's delicious Scandinavian buffet breakfast the next morning. But first and foremost, I hope the poor pilot was ok!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Have seen a flight delay when a group of 4 people were booked but only 3 were still travelling. They still wanted to use the baggage allowance for the 4 people so in their wisdom checked in the person no longer travelling. As Murphy's law, or Tuckers Law - better Google that as can't post the full translation here, would have it the baggage of course was pooled under the passengers name who was not travelling.

When the pax was a gate noshow staff asked his travelling companions where he was and they then admitted they checked him in when they knew he wouldn't be travelling to use his baggage allowance resulting in the Captain booting them off the flight with their luggage as the story probably sounded a bit too shady for his liking.

Way back in 89.... we were heading off on an amazingly priced package deal to the "Indonesian International Skydiving Championships and Boogie in Bali" lol
Garuda flight number ,,but aircraft was from a US Charter company and crewed by Americans. It was a DC-10. I believe it was during the Haji when the "real" Garuda aircraft were carrying pilgrims....

We were delayed because they were "having a little trouble closing the aft cargo door"....:shock::shock::shock:

Not so much strange....as frightening.......

As an aside... we were allowed to take our parachute rigs onboard as carry on......... that caused some interesting looks from the non-skydivers onboard.....

Trooper I believe GA used a World Airways DC-10 at certain times of the year when The Hajj 747 went 'AWOL' to do charters to JED during Ramadan. That particular 747 had an all economy config which also did regular RPT flights when it wans't going to or from Saudi. Ports would never know when it was going to drop in throwing seating plans into complete chaos when it did.



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