Itunis
04-10-2009, 01:10 PM
I began my morning by looking at the weather forecast for New York City. Heavy rain and thunderstorms, the Weather Channel said. Luckily (or so I thought) my flight would land well before any serious weather.
Our Delta flight boarded right at 7:10, a routine 30 minutes before scheduled pushback. We were seated near the back of the 757, 4-5 rows from the rear lavatories. The plane boarded quickly, in the end only about 2/3 full with the middle seat open in most rows. Right around pushback time we got the bad news-a ground stop had been issued for Laguardia due to dense fog. The pilot said it was only temporary, and sure enough we were given the all-clear at 8:15, just over 30 minutes past our scheduled departure.
We taxied out to the runway with no delay to get on our way. The engines spooled up and I enjoyed the power of the 757. Then, about 5 or so seconds in, the engines wound back down abruptly. At first we thought there was a mechanical problem, but no-another ground stop at Laguardia, again due to fog. The flight attendants started a movie, Marley and Me, along with complimentary headphones (normally they are 2$) which helped a bit with the wait. Finally, around 9:20, we were given the go-ahead to takeoff over an hour and a half past hour scheduled departure.
Climbing out of Atlanta was fairly bumpy, with primarily higher end light turbulence. Once above the clouds the ride smoothed out, allowing me some much needed sleep. I woke up about a quarter after 11. At first I was puzzled, as we were supposed to land just after 11 according to the pilot after takeoff. I talked to my seatmate and discovered that we were holding north of DC, unable to continue through the severe thunderstorms in the Northeast. The pilot checked in soon after with some more bad news- we didn't have enough fuel to continue to LGA even if things did clear up. We had to divert to Dulles in DC, and even there conditions were not so good.
As our descent began, the pilot ordered all flight attendants to be seated-no pre-landing trash pickup today. It seemed as if the pilot had to take quick turns to avoid going through the towering thunderheads surrounding us. The speed brakes were deployed before we even reached the cloud deck- we were descending fast.
Hitting the cloud layer was like being dropped into a raging sea-massive air currents sent the plane tilting in every direction, making it drop and rise like a roller coaster. At one time the plane dropped for several seconds for what had to be a few dozen feet. It didn't tilt or turn, it just dropped- my Ipod was suspended in midair for a brief moment. Even after getting below the clouds, massive gusts of wind sent the plane tilting, 20-30 degrees from vertical at times. From my seat in the back, I could see the fuselage flexing with each bump, accompanied by frighteningly loud crashes from the plane.
As we neared the ground, I truly thought we wouldn't make it to the runway. The plane was tilting so violently along with rapid changes in altitude-a strong downdraft could smash our plane onto the runway if we got unlucky. Somehow, the pilot managed it. We landed right at the beginning of the runway and the pilot applied full reverse thrust and brakes-it seemed as if our speed had been greater than normal during descent. The crew received a well-deserved ovation once the wheels touched the ground. The crew did an excellent job keeping us updated on the latest details for our flight. I know that the passengers usually exaggerate the severity of turbulence, but I have to say I'm now one of those "lucky" few who get to experience severe turbulence.
We now had to join the line for refueling-7 other planes had managed to land before us, so we had a nice long wait to look forward to. The captain said it would be a matter of hours, not minutes, so when the opportunity arose to take a bus to LGA, I eagerly left the plane-I only carried a rollaboard in the overhead of the plane.
The bus ride itself wasn't too horrible-5 hours straight to Laguardia, no stops. One lady, however, decided that she needed to get off at her apartment in Manhattan-she actually tried to open the door herself at a stoplight near her house. She eventually calmed down and resigned herself to getting off at the airport and taking a cab.
The bus arrived just after 5:00. The plane, I later learned, arrived at just after 3:00. If the flight from DC to NYC was anything like the one from ATL, I think that taking the bus was a better choice. Delta did a good job in getting everyone where they needed to be (one person's final destination was DC-he really lucked out on that one!). Other airlines might have canceled the flight altogether, or not have provided transportation to LGA after we diverted to Washington. Overall, it was an quite an experience-a great story to tell family and friends, but definitely not something to go through again!
Our Delta flight boarded right at 7:10, a routine 30 minutes before scheduled pushback. We were seated near the back of the 757, 4-5 rows from the rear lavatories. The plane boarded quickly, in the end only about 2/3 full with the middle seat open in most rows. Right around pushback time we got the bad news-a ground stop had been issued for Laguardia due to dense fog. The pilot said it was only temporary, and sure enough we were given the all-clear at 8:15, just over 30 minutes past our scheduled departure.
We taxied out to the runway with no delay to get on our way. The engines spooled up and I enjoyed the power of the 757. Then, about 5 or so seconds in, the engines wound back down abruptly. At first we thought there was a mechanical problem, but no-another ground stop at Laguardia, again due to fog. The flight attendants started a movie, Marley and Me, along with complimentary headphones (normally they are 2$) which helped a bit with the wait. Finally, around 9:20, we were given the go-ahead to takeoff over an hour and a half past hour scheduled departure.
Climbing out of Atlanta was fairly bumpy, with primarily higher end light turbulence. Once above the clouds the ride smoothed out, allowing me some much needed sleep. I woke up about a quarter after 11. At first I was puzzled, as we were supposed to land just after 11 according to the pilot after takeoff. I talked to my seatmate and discovered that we were holding north of DC, unable to continue through the severe thunderstorms in the Northeast. The pilot checked in soon after with some more bad news- we didn't have enough fuel to continue to LGA even if things did clear up. We had to divert to Dulles in DC, and even there conditions were not so good.
As our descent began, the pilot ordered all flight attendants to be seated-no pre-landing trash pickup today. It seemed as if the pilot had to take quick turns to avoid going through the towering thunderheads surrounding us. The speed brakes were deployed before we even reached the cloud deck- we were descending fast.
Hitting the cloud layer was like being dropped into a raging sea-massive air currents sent the plane tilting in every direction, making it drop and rise like a roller coaster. At one time the plane dropped for several seconds for what had to be a few dozen feet. It didn't tilt or turn, it just dropped- my Ipod was suspended in midair for a brief moment. Even after getting below the clouds, massive gusts of wind sent the plane tilting, 20-30 degrees from vertical at times. From my seat in the back, I could see the fuselage flexing with each bump, accompanied by frighteningly loud crashes from the plane.
As we neared the ground, I truly thought we wouldn't make it to the runway. The plane was tilting so violently along with rapid changes in altitude-a strong downdraft could smash our plane onto the runway if we got unlucky. Somehow, the pilot managed it. We landed right at the beginning of the runway and the pilot applied full reverse thrust and brakes-it seemed as if our speed had been greater than normal during descent. The crew received a well-deserved ovation once the wheels touched the ground. The crew did an excellent job keeping us updated on the latest details for our flight. I know that the passengers usually exaggerate the severity of turbulence, but I have to say I'm now one of those "lucky" few who get to experience severe turbulence.
We now had to join the line for refueling-7 other planes had managed to land before us, so we had a nice long wait to look forward to. The captain said it would be a matter of hours, not minutes, so when the opportunity arose to take a bus to LGA, I eagerly left the plane-I only carried a rollaboard in the overhead of the plane.
The bus ride itself wasn't too horrible-5 hours straight to Laguardia, no stops. One lady, however, decided that she needed to get off at her apartment in Manhattan-she actually tried to open the door herself at a stoplight near her house. She eventually calmed down and resigned herself to getting off at the airport and taking a cab.
The bus arrived just after 5:00. The plane, I later learned, arrived at just after 3:00. If the flight from DC to NYC was anything like the one from ATL, I think that taking the bus was a better choice. Delta did a good job in getting everyone where they needed to be (one person's final destination was DC-he really lucked out on that one!). Other airlines might have canceled the flight altogether, or not have provided transportation to LGA after we diverted to Washington. Overall, it was an quite an experience-a great story to tell family and friends, but definitely not something to go through again!