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scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - CardBoardBox - 03-26-2015
Puddle jumper - 16 seats exactly like sitting in a go-cart, propeller plane in Arkansas.
They opened the curtain as we begin our desent. We started aiming at the end of the runway. The ground is getting closer, and closer, the runway getting bigger and bigger, and we are STILL aiming at the same spot which eventually filled the entire view.
I was convinced we were going to become a pile of crumpled metal at the end of the air strip when finally and literally WAS at the last moment we leveled off (and of course landed.)
As in Sharleens "little station wagon" to Negril, bumps in flight were a lot more violent but I wasn't worried (too much) because the planes were designed to take the stress. Right?
RE: scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - kylake - 03-26-2015
Pilot was probably a crop duster (lots of them in Ark) before he started flying commercial. At least that is what it sounds like from your description of his approach to the runway. Nose in and pitch up at the last second to use every inch of the runway.
RE: scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - Tim - 03-26-2015
When we flew from Belize City to Placencia it was in a small plane, maybe 10 passengers. It was a turbulant ride the whole way. My wife gripped my arm the whole flight. No chance for error at the landing strip, it spans the entire width of the tiny peninsula where the town is.
That reminds me, what a different place Placencia is - tiny airport, not a cab in sight. One of the airport workers gave us a ride to our hotel in his personal truck.
RE: scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - rootswoman - 03-29-2015
Oh Boy!
I have a story for this thread
Back in the day (When there was still a country called Yugoslavia) I was visiting my brother and his wife in Rome with my 2 year old daughter. I was living in Greece at the time.
I wanted to fly home to the USA for a visit with my daughter. It was January. My brother and wife decided i had to use this "great cheap flight" that they had used on a Yugoslavian airline called Jat. I went to the center of Rome to go to this special student travel agency that my brother and wife sweared by to book my flight. Perhaps this method of traveling is good for students, but it was another story for a mother with a small child. We were young and didn't know better.
So the flight started in Rome and then it flew to Belgrade with two other stops in Yugoslavia before arriving in Belgrade. The plane was old and grotty. As we approached the first landing in Yugoslavia the plane started shaking uncontrollably and all the gas masks popped out of their compartments. I came close to peeing my pants. We were told no worries. We did land safely, but it sure was frightening. We put away our gas masks and took off again. We went through the shaking and gas masks expelling two more times before deplaning in Belgrade.
In Belgrade they bused us to a dark dingy hotel where cockroaches scurried from the bathroom when you turned on the light. There, we spent the night, and they woke us up bright and early (oh wait it was still dark) for a 6am flight. It was snowing out and as soon as we arrived they told us our flight was delayed. (why oh why didnt they let us sleep in - my daughter was CRANKY) We spent 11 hours waiting to fly to New York. What a horrible day that was with a two year old child and terrible airport food.
The entire trip home was a disaster. There was another snow storm in NY so we had to fly to another airport while our ride was waiting at the first one. Next, after a long wait to get picked up, our 3 hour drive became a six hour drive due to snow.
The story goes on and on - we flew to LA - Atlanta and back to Boston visiting friends and family. Every flight was delayed and messed up. At Logan, my daughter got her little hand caught in the conveyor belt giving her Teddy Bear back pack a ride, while airport security was making me remove all of my bangle bracelets. She got a pretty bad friction burn but we had to get on the plane as it was the last flight allowed to leave logan that day (snow again). I did not know how bad the injury was until we were in the air. I should have gotten medical attention and held the airline responsible. She was in so much pain she threw up all over herself and i had to strip off her clothes and wrap her in an airport blanket. Meanwhile, in LA, my sister was an hour late as our flight was rushed and arrive an hour early. Ill never forget carrying my two year older in a t shirt and undies around in that blanket, along with a smart cart of luggage, afraid to go inside so we wouldn't miss my sister. (no cell phones back then)
By the time we finally got back to our little Greek Island I vowed never to leave again.
RE: scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - Schuttzie - 03-30-2015
Oh, my goodness what a nightmare, Rootswoman! I can't imagine trying to travel that much with a 2yr. old. Poor little thing with the conveyor belt disaster.
RE: scary NON-Jamaican flight of old - NJWinter - 03-31-2015
Leaving PHL (Philly) at night, I forget the reason but the runway lights were not working and aircraft operations were grounded. We were waiting for a half hour or so and suddenly the you hear the engines spool up and we are going down the taxi way in the dark and finally on to the runway...we took off in the dark with no runway lights when airport operations were supposed to be suspended....this was on Air Jamaica early 2000s.
Leaving PHL we were on a US airways flight to Sangster, everyone is boarded and check is complete...we begin to push back and suddenly the aircraft stopped...turns out the 9v battery for the emergency exit door failed to illuminate...well how hard is it to find a battery? hard...try 8 hours! 4 on the plane and the rest in the airport.
Flying into PHL from Sangster in a winter storm (Air Jamaica mid-2000s) we were on approach the aircraft began to yaw heavily, we didn't "land" we hit the runway on a angle HARD and I mean HARD! overhead bins opened and everything in the cabin shifted...felt like a roller coaster ride from hell.