Not doin' anything? Care to read a short (long) true story?

[Ishniknork]

This story is true. It really happened, though it was about ten years ago. Longest short trip I ever made. Quotes from the captain and crew are almost to the word. I decided to write it all down right after I got home. I hope you enjoy it. I didn't!

EO400: Express One flight to Purgatory


The Set-up:

It all started when my best friend Greg and I decided to take a much-needed vacation to the Purgatory Ski Resort in southwestern Colorado, about a 20-minute drive north of Durango. My buddy Greg was working his way through college at the time so we had to plan the trip for spring break. To save a little money we booked our airfare through a travel agency on Express One, an airline that was offering a package deal for ski trips to Purgatory. We only booked the flight because it was the cheapest we could find but opted to make separate hotel accommodations at the resort and get a rental car. The package deal had you staying in Durango and having to ride a bus every day to go skiing.

The Start:

It was Sunday morning and Greg arrived at my place in Fort Worth after driving up from Austin to start our long awaited vacation. Everything was going perfectly as my sister drove us to DFW airport to catch our 4:00 flight to the wonderful snow-covered slopes of Purgatory Mountain. Traffic was light, the airport seemed deserted, and we were dropped off at the terminal with plenty of time to spare.

As we entered the terminal we couldn’t believe our eyes. There were at least 170 some-odd people, mostly college students, trying to get all kinds of luggage checked in for this flight. Some of them had so much stuff you would have thought were moving to Durango instead of going on a 3-day spring break vacation! The line was so long and disorganized that the British Airlines people had to ask everyone to move so they wouldn’t block their counter. But it was obvious that everyone there was anxious to get to the final destination, Purgatory Mountain.

After an hour-long wait just to get checked in Greg and I proceeded to the boarding area for our scheduled 4 o’clock departure. But as we arrived at the gate we heard an announcement informing us that the plane had a bad navigational instrument. A new part was being sent over from Dallas’ Love Field and that the plane should be ready to go in an hour and a half.

Greg and I looked at each other and said, “OK. It’s a drag, but we can handle it.”

The Flight:

An hour and a half later we board the plane and take off. As we were climbing out the plane started to make its turn… in the wrong direction. I casually mentioned to Greg “I think there must be something wrong, the plane should have turned west and we went east.” Not believing me he said, “No, they’re just going the long way around.” But sure enough about a minute later the captain came on the intercom to announce that the number 2 engine had an oil pressure warning light on and that we were going to land back at DFW to have it checked out.

After the short 5-minute flight we landed back where we started, taxied back to the terminal, and found out it will be about an hour and a half before we can get on our way. We also had to de-plane so they could take the plane out to the end of the runway to test the engine once repairs had been made.

We looked at each other again. “OK”, we agreed, “we can handle that. Better safe than dead!”

Another hour and a half later, more or less, here we go again. We re-board the plane, taxi out to the runway and take off for the second time. As the plane takes to the air and gains altitude Greg and I both noticed we were making a slow right turn to the west. “Looks like we’re headed in the right direction this time” I told Greg. “Cool!” he says. After being delayed around three and a half hours already we’re really relieved to finally be on our way.

As we started to ease off the turn the captain made an announcement. “Well folks, looks like we got the problem fixed and we’ll be getting you all to Cincinnati as quickly as we can!” A moment of silence followed and then everyone, realizing he was joking, cheered and applauded. We all felt like the delays were behind us and things were going to be all right from here on out.

Now that everyone was at ease with the problems that had plagued our flight so far, the passengers’ thoughts turned to possible compensations for the delays. The fact that it was spring break and that most of the passengers were college students led to the obvious conclusion that free drinks were in order! After discussing the matter for a bit the students broke out in a chant that turned into an inside joke lasting throughout the whole ski trip. “Free drinks! Free drinks! Free drinks!” But alas, that was not to be. The airlines’ policy stated that compensations could only be awarded after a delay of 4 or more hours and we were shy by about 30 minutes. Darn the Luck!

Anyway, the flight from DFW to the La Plata County airport near Durango went without a hitch. It’s what happened next that really put the cap on this wonderful experience.

The Incident:

As we made our approach to land everything felt fine except for what seemed to me like excessive throttling of the engines by the pilot. The airport is located in the middle of nowhere and thanks to the three and a half hour delay it was now dark outside. There were no real landmarks visible or lights to see except for the airport itself and the city of Durango is about twenty miles away. Even so, I was still looking out the starboard window on Row 31 to watch the runway lights come up to meet us as we landed. Ah, here they come…

Then suddenly… BAM!!! The left rear landing gear bangs the ground and the plane makes an abrupt attitude adjustment and rolls to the right. Still looking out the window I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw sparks fly as the right wingtip scraped the ground! The right gear never even made contact! Later on other passengers said they saw sparks on the port side too!

All the passengers looked at each other in awe as we heard the engines being pushed to the max. The plane started to climb and then…

BOOM!!! A loud explosion shook the plane. “What was that!” exclaimed Greg as he squeezed the armrests in a death grip. “Uh… I think we just lost an engine. We should be OK as long as it didn’t catch fire or blow part of the tail off. This plane has three engines and can still fly on just two.” I told him. Probably a small condolence to him but having flown many times myself I could tell we were not in immediate danger of crashing.

After what seemed an eternity the captain came on to tell us that we had indeed lost an engine. The number 2 engine as a matter of fact, the same one that had the oil pressure problem back at DFW! He also reassured us that the plane was equipped with three engines and was perfectly capable of flying on just two of them. (Whew, what a relief… )

The captain also informed us of his intention to land at an airport in Farmington, New Mexico because he didn’t want to try clearing the mountains for another approach to the La Plata County airport with only two engines. Farmington was only 5 minutes away, flying time. So we’re on our way to Farmington…

...Or so we thought. After what seemed more than 5 minutes he came on again: “Well, ah, we’ve talked to Farmington and found out the runway there may be too short for this aircraft in this condition so we’re going to head to Albuquerque where they have facilities to work on this plane and we’ll try to get you to Durango as quickly as possible.”

Greg and I thought, “Well, at least they can work on the plane there…”

So-o-o… After about 20 more minutes we landed, without incident, in Albuquerque. But we did not taxi to a terminal. Instead we sat in the plane, on the tarmac, surrounded by a security force for (guess how long…) an HOUR and a HALF! It seems the FAA has certain regulations about planes and people that are not where they are supposed to be.

Finally, the security force received permission to let us taxi over and de-plane at a local business there named Cutter Aviation. By this time the whole airfield was totally dead. No flights coming or going. Everything looked closed, even the main terminal. The kind people at Cutter had agreed to take us in and gave us coffee and the chance to use a telephone to contact awaiting parties. Greg and I tried to call the hotel at Purgatory Resort several times but the line was busy… (Hmmm, I wonder why?)

Not ten minutes later when we had just started to relax under Cutters’ hospitality the security force announced they were going to let us into the main terminal at a secure, designated area. Once again we had to board the plane to taxi over there. (Short trip…)

Off the plane we went again, around midnight, into our ‘designated area’ of gates B1 and B2 in the main terminal. Delta Airlines normally used these gates. Some of their attendants passed out peanuts, pretzels, and canned drinks to us, as much as we wanted. I thought that was very kind and generous of them. Since our flight was only supposed to be an hour and a half no meals were served and we were hungry. Deltas’ generosity also helped take our minds off our present situation. Being stuck in an airport in the middle of the night when we should have been in a cozy hotel room getting rested up for slopes!

While all that was going on the captain and crew were trying to find out what Express One was going to do to resolve this situation. About one thirty an announcement was finally made:

“Folks, we’ve talked to Dallas and they’re going to send another plane from there to take you to Durango. They are preparing the plane and once they take off it’s an hour and a half flight to here and then once they get the luggage transferred and everybody boarded it’s only twenty minutes to Durango. If there is anyone not wishing to fly on the plane and want to make other arrangements, please come up to the counter and give us your name so we can unload your luggage.”

Well, somehow, my name got on that list. (I suspect my "friend" Greg had something to do with that! He's a real card sometimes) Had it been that we were on the package deal my luggage would have been left in Albuquerque! Fortunately they could not find my hotel destination on their list and called me to the counter to verify it. (Whew!!!)

After another hour, another announcement: “If I may have your attention please, we’ve just learned that the plane is ready to take off and should arrive about 4 o’clock. For everyone wishing to go on the plane we will try to get you there as quickly as possible.” (Oh Boy…)

Although everyone was relieved to know that help was on the way, time was the enemy. A few people start pulling cushions out of the seats for makeshift beds while others simply laid themselves down on the floor. Everyone was trying to rest up for their first day on the mountain. Then at three o’clock we got another update: “May I have your attention please. We just heard that the plane has not left yet. They are trying to decide if they should load the plane with food there or wait ‘till they get here.”

The majority of us literally screamed “Aarrrggghhhh!!! SEND THE PLANE!!!”

Shortly thereafter a local news guy showed up with a camera and mic to interview a few of the passengers about their situation. Most talked about the attempted landing at Durango and how they couldn’t wait to get to the slopes. At best it was just another distraction to help pass the time.

Finally, the rescue plane showed up at around, oh, I guess about four thirty or four fourty-five. Maybe even five o’clock. At that point I really didn’t even know for sure. (But Hoo-Rah!!!) The next announcement we heard was “Now folks, we just have to fuel up the plane and get the luggage transferred. We should have you on your way in about…” Let me guess… an HOUR and a HALF?! Yeah, we’ve heard that one before…

Dead on our feet after a sleepless night and at six-something in the morning, we boarded the second airplane. I found out later it was the only other airplane Express One owned. This plane did look like it was newer and in better condition than the other one, which was somewhat comforting.

When everyone was on board we taxied out to the runway and began our takeoff. It was an extremely long roll before we lifted off. Once we were in the air the captain told us they had filled the plane full with fuel in case we had to circle over La Plata waiting for the weather to clear because it was snowing there now, or if we had to divert to Denver. (DENVER!?!?!)

The Arrival:

The mood was rather somber on the short flight from Albuquerque to Durango. Everyone was worried the weather would cause us to be diverted to Denver. Luck finally shined on us though. Visibility was good when we got to La Plata County airport so the pilot made his approach to the runway. Other than a little skidding as the pilot steered the plane to the center of the runway (having missed it on touchdown) the landing was only slightly hairy. At seven thirty Monday morning, fifteen and a half hours from the original departure time, we had finally completed our ‘one and a half hour’ flight.

From then on things went pretty smooth. We rented a 4x4 Blazer and arrived at the resort in the midst of some heavy snowfall (read that "fresh powder") around 8:30. The hotel was kind enough to transfer our Sunday night to Thursday and after getting some sleep we were able to enjoy all the skiing we had expected. Every time we met up with some of the other passengers from the flight we’d all chant “Free Drinks!” together in mutual remembrance of the ordeal we went through to get there.

The Return Home:

Greg and I didn’t really want to fly with Express One again so Friday morning we rented a car one-way for the 850-mile trip back to Fort Worth. Even with an hour’s delay from taking a wrong turn thanks to greg's navigational skills (which, by the way, took us through Albuquerque) we made the trip in thirteen and a half hours.

Doing the math, we beat our time getting there by 2 HOURS!

The End

Authors' note: I believe Purgatory Resort was bought and renamed.