Travel Horror Stories

[RussM]

As promised in another thread, here's the first installment:

Sep 94. Finished working at a client site near Chicago. Boarded USAir 737 at O'Hare for flight to my next client site near Pittsburg; about five minutes before they closed the doors, I get a pager message to abort my trip to Pittsburg, and get to another client having a crisis as soon as I possibly can. Get off the plane, rebook on another flight, and while waiting for that flight, I see on the concourse TVs that the USAir flight had gone down on approach to Pittsburg, no survivors.

[iVgOnMaD]

Russ - Hey, it wasn't your time :D

What was the first thing you did when you realized the plane had gone down?

I had 2 kids in the seat behind me that were more like wild beasts of hell. Their mom was in the set of seats right beside them but was sleeping the whole flight. I hate other peoples kids....

[malachai629]

As promised in another thread, here's the first installment:

Sep 94. Finished working at a client site near Chicago. Boarded USAir 737 at O'Hare for flight to my next client site near Pittsburg; about five minutes before they closed the doors, I get a pager message to get abort my trip to Pittsburg, and get to another client having a crisis as soon as I possibly can. Get off the plane, rebook on another flight, and while waiting for that flight, I see on the concourse TVs that the USAir flight had gone down on approach to Pittsburg, no survivors.


That is un-effing-believable! I can't even imagine the sensation of seeing that happen...

[Diver Dan]

I cant even imagine!^^

[Daniel]

That's pretty scary... :(

What's the 2nd installment?

[RussM]

Russ - Hey, it wasn't your time :D

What was the first thing you did when you realized the plane had gone down?
I said prayers to every God I could think of, both for my luck and for those who's lives were lost! I even had a few nice thoughts about my boss at the time (who was an incompetant twit), thanking him for diverting me.

[DaveMorris]

Well...on my trip back from Spain yesterday my nonstop from Newark, NJ to San Diego became a one stop in Phoenix due to a very sick lady. The plane was diverted because she was throwing up and kept passing out. A doctor on board suggested that they land as soon as possible to get her real medical help. You know when the Captain gets on the speakers and tells everyone to sit down, buckle up, and hold on, that you are in for a ride. We decended into Phoenix unbelievably fast, landed and made a straight shot for the gate. Paramedics take her off the plane, we get more gas, replace the oxygen tank she used and actually got a priority path to take off. We were on the ground in Phoenix for maybe 20 mins max. The jerk sitting across from me was pissed that they diverted "For someone with a tummy ache". Typically when you are nausiated and losing conciousness it is some sort of brain trouble and either way I am sure it was quite serious.

[RussM]

That's pretty scary... :(

What's the 2nd installment?

One of the scariest, freak-me-out moments of my life!

Next story:

Got sent to work for a week at a tiny little hospital in Michigan, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. It was the dead of winter; the town lives for the summer tourist season... it's nearly vacant in the winter. No hotels around, not even a fast food joint or greasy spoon diner within 25 miles. Nearest convenince store open during the off season was about 15 miles away. Hospital didn't even have a cafeteria... lunch was out of a vending machine most days. Stayed at a fleabag motel 50 miles away for the week...next best choice was 75 miles away. Heat was almost nonexistant in the hotel... warmest I could get it was around 50 degrees (it was mostly in the single digits outside). Besides the vast population of cockroaches in the motel, I awoke twice to find a rat crawling on me.

[RussM]

The jerk sitting across from me was pissed that they diverted "For someone with a tummy ache".

Saw something similar on a flight when a elderly guy was experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. Some a-hole kept shouting out that the flight attendants should give the sick guy a couple of bottles of scotch, and he'd be OK.

[RussM]

I had just spent two weeks straight in FL at a client, even worked all weekend. Driving up to the Orlando Airport to head home from Sebring on Friday afternoon, it's a beautiful summer day, deep blue skies, just a few big puffy white clouds in the sky. Get closer to Orlando, and I see gray clouds ahead. A few miles closer, and the clouds are almost black. A freak microcell of what turned into intense thunderstorms is forming directly over the airport. I return my rental car, and am on the shuttle bus to the terminals. Rain comes down like I've neven seen... the bus driver can't see even 25 feet ahead, and pulls over. We sit on the side of the road for 15-20 minutes, and are finally able to proceed. Go to get checked in, only to find out that all flights are delayed indefinately because lightning took out the radar. After a several hours of putting up with pissed off travelers and out of control kids who had just spent a week overdosing on thrill rides and sugary treats at DisneyWorld, my flight finally boards... we're all told that Atlanta has had weather problems too, and that we all should make our delayed connections. Get to Altanta... run at full speed to my next flight - they were just shutting the doors on my flight home to San Diego - me and about 10 others tried to get on, but the snotty gate attendant said no; she even refused to contact the pilot. I go try to get rebooked, and I'm told by another rude airline agent that I'd have to pay a hefty fare differential, because "I had plenty of time to make my originally-scheduled flight, and that I shouldn't have wasted so much time getting from the arrival gate to the departure gate." The guy finally booked me on another flight on standby. I go to the gate at the designated time, only to find out that the jerk had booked me on the *next* day's flight on standby. I pitch a fit at the customer service counter. They put me on the next flight, with a seat in first class. Get on the plane only to sit there for a couple of hours while they figure out a hydraulics problem. They end up cancelling the flight. Rebooked on another flight the next morning (Saturday). Get a hotel, wash socks and skivvies in the sink, go back to airport next morning. No record of me having been rebooked. Told there were no seats to get me home to San Diego until the next day. I'm supposed to be coming back to Florida on a flight Sunday afternoon. Just about ready to scream, I get them to just send me back to Orlando.

[SolRo]

My relatives skipped getting tickets for TWA 800 in favor of a flight with a stop in italy.

[swissfish]

Flew from Paris to LA on Air France. Plaine takes off we hear a clonk. Pilot gets on the horn and tels us that a flock of birds tried to fly by the engine and not all of them made it and the systems shows vibrations on the engine. He said he is going to drop some fuel, and return to the airport. After landing the firefighters had to inspect the wheels and breakes because the pilot diden't want to drop to much fuel. Everything was ok and we parked somewhere out on the rollfield. The Airport sends ONE of the debording buses out to unload as. One houre later I was able to get on board of the bus. At this point I was sitting in the plane for 31/2 houres and I am still at the same place. Then they told us that we are going to use the Air France Plane who usaly serves Africa (No In seat screens and games) and off we went 2 houres later.

[swissfish]

last summer I flew with my wife and 11/2 year old to switzerland. Got to LA 21/2 houres before the flight. Check in line is 2h 15min because they had canceled flights from other airpoert, we diden't make our first flight to NY but the flight one houre later will still get us there in time. On the flight to NY just before NY the piot tells us that they have T-storms and we circle for a bit, then we get inforemed that there is no more fuel in our tanks and we need to go to Norfolk VA to refuel. At this point my daughter gets some benadryl out of respect for the other pasangers. We got into NY about 3 houres late and I get rebooked to fly to Paris CDG and then to zurich. Our trip ended up lasting 28 houres and we diden't see any of our luggage for 3 days.

[CBlanks]

I was leaving Paris and we were in the air for maybe 5 minutes when a lady across the row from me got up screaming "HELP HELP!" The guy next to her was having a stroke. However, instead of saying "This man is having a stroke" she yelled out "ahhhhhh help!" We all thought the worst until it was made clear what was happening. A passenger doctor examined him and determined we had to land immediately...at the same airport. We did a huge u-turn in the sky and land extra heavy with all the unburnt fuel. Once the emergency crews had taken the guy away we thought we would be taking off again. Wrong. Since we landed heavy they had to get a systems check from the mechanic who had already gone home for the day. Once he finally arrived back and did a check they had to fax the papers to Detroit or something. Basically we were stuck on the runway for 6 hours. Everyone missed their connecting flights and we had to wait 2 hours after landing to clear customs and get our hotel vouchers.

[swissfish]

Charles de Gaules Air Port? I hate this Air Port like no other. If something requires an extra effort on theyr part you will be stuck for houres because they don't care.
I had to yell at a Air France Dude once, he diden't think i speak french and mad a snoody comment to his friend after he bumped me. I ended up being on the plane in Bussiness class :D

[CBlanks]

yeah it was Charles de Gaules. Well done on your French!

[Jessy]

Flying to Africa last summer. My flight path was supposed to take me from SD to IAH to TPA for a few days then to ORD-LON-ENTEBBE. On my flight from SD to IAH we are delayed due to hydrolics problems. So 2 hours sitting on the runway. Then we get going and about 1 hour into the flight this little old lady starts to feel bad. So she is in the bathroom with the oxygen mask on for a little while. Next thing I know I hear a commotion and they are laying her on the aisle. The doctor on the flight gets the difibulator (have no idea how to spell it), and starts zapping her. She is only like 5 rows behind me. I see her feet jump as he tries to start her heart. After a few times of that, he starts CPR. I'm watchin the whole thing. So we get an emergency landing.....talk about a rollercoaster drop to the ground. The doc does CPR the whole way. We land and the EMT's are literally driving next to the plane as we stop. About 20 EMT's and firemen run onto the plane to carry her off. They brought her right past me, dead as a doornail. And STUNK TO HIGH HEAVEN. So we had to wait another 2 hours on the runway to get the plane cleaned and defumigated. The IDIOT next to me was just complaining and complaining. I turned to him and told him off so bad...It was one of my best tongue lashings I have ever given anyone. :). So then we finally get to IAH and I'm like 5 hours late. Misconnect my next flight of course. I get my mom to call during my flight to get me rebooked, and she tells me a gate to run to. I run there, and the gate had changed to somewhere on the other side of the airport. So I run to the tram, and it is down. :mad: I run all the way to the other terminal and I get there as the doors are closing. They tank one look at me and let me in. I basically cried the whole way to TPA. My trip to Africa the next day was eventful also, but I'll save that for another time.

[KingPum]

I visited Pennsylvania for a week.

[RussM]

I visited Pennsylvania for a week.

Hey... that's where I grew up!;) What didn't you like?

[lucubrator]

I've flown to Sweden every year for the past ten, and the only problem I've ever had was last summer when STA booked the parts of it. Don't use STA.

[barometer]

I visited Pennsylvania for a week.


Hey... that's where I grew up!;) What didn't you like?

Hey me too! wait...when I think about it I can understand :p

[MrKrispy]

O'hare International, X-mas time. That's all that needs to be said.

[Flamehawk]

well, my probably not as scary as some :P one year taking a flight across pacific ....ran into some unstable air current while eating in a 747...all the sudden the airplane climed up who knows how much from the height we were at... for maybe 2 second or less I think...than drop like a rollercoaster for who knows how long..few second..probably not too long...was too busy holding on to the chair, hearing all the cup/plates/spoon/fork and other things fall on to the floor, baby crying, people screaming...wonder if this is it (is kind like one of those life flash before the eyes type moment, make u start thinking of all kinds stuff)

[h20poloman]

Why did I have to read this before flying out this coming thursday...:eek: My travels last year to Europe were not that fun and I was traveling by myself and first time there. Flight was SD to Boston to London to Munich. Was supposed to arrive in Munich around 1pm...missed my connection in London due to a super slow security line and ended up having to be rerouted through Frankfurt after a 8 hour layover. After getting to Munich I still needed to take a train to Austria so instead of getting there around 3pm I ended up getting in around 1am. Of course...no bag. Got my backpack 3 days later....luckily I'm pretty low maintenance. Keeping my fingers crossed for this trip.

[DaveMorris]

"O'hare International, X-mas time. That's all that needs to be said."

Been there, done that. It was BRUTAL!!

[RussM]

"O'hare International, X-mas time. That's all that needs to be said."

Been there, done that. It was BRUTAL!!

JFK NY, on New Year's day... I've never seen so many people with hangovers in one place.:D