Passengers Sit In Plane For Hours After Icy Conditions
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AirTran 9-Hour Delay
Passengers spend nine hours on Port Columbus' tarmac waiting for takeoff.
Photo courtesy of Julie Ralston.
Passengers on a Port Columbus flight sit in a plane on the runway for more than nine hours Wednesday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Passengers on a flight at Port Columbus sat in their plane on the runway for more than nine hours Wednesday after inclement weather caused icy conditions at the airport.
Terry Elkin and several other people boarded AirTran flight 373 Wednesday at about 7:30 a.m. headed for Orlando, NBC 4 reported.
According to Elkin, passengers were informed that the plane needed to be de-iced, but when the de-icing truck failed to arrive, passengers were allowed off the plane at about 10:45 a.m.
Shortly thereafter, passengers were allowed back on the plane, where they sat until about 4:30 p.m.
Passengers were given only one serving of water during the time period.
Passenger Julie Ralston was traveling with her family, including her 10-month-old daughter.
“We’ve got kids. They’re getting antsy. We have a 10-month-old baby. She did well, but it was getting hot on the plane because they didn’t have the engines running where you get cool air. So you’re sitting three people in a seat and sitting with a baby and she’s wallowing you to death and it’s hot,“ Ralston said.
Passenger Terry Elkin also spoke about his experience.
“Being a guy in his early 60s, it was tough on me, but it was a lot rougher on the children. There were a lot of children on there, and I’m amazed at how good they were sitting there all that time. During that entire time, they came by once with water and there was no food offered,“ Elkin said.
Shortly before 5 p.m., passengers were told the airline was preparing to load them onto a different plane bound for Orlando.
NBC 4’s Colleen Marshall spoke to an AirTran spokesperson Wednesday night. She asked whether the airline has a policy that people who have been waiting that long be offered food.
The spokesperson said passengers should not have been waiting that long. He said it was clearly a mistake.
AirTran told NBC 4 that the situation was caused by a plan that was coated in ice as well as an overeager crew trying to make sure the flight took off and landed in Orlando.
AirTran officials said they should have canceled the flight or at the very least removed passengers from the plane.
When AirTran headquarters staff realized what happened, they sent a plane from Atlanta to Columbus to transport passengers to Orlando.
The new flight was scheduled to arrive in Orlando at 8:11 p.m. and landed safely at 8:06 p.m.
Port Columbus used four full de-icing trucks in its attempt to remove ice from the original plane.
“Toward the end, I would say it was mutiny pretty much,“ Elkin said.
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Reader Reactions
And the passengers and air crew just sat there without questioning the delay? Bunch of sheep!
At least they were allowed off of the plane for a period of time. Those of us on US Airways Flight 468 to Phoenix sat in the plane for over 6 hours on the tarmac, waiting for the plance to be de-iced. There were 10 snack boxes for the entire plane, so, most of us went without food for 11 hours, since we had to wait until we arrived in Phoenix to eat. However, the most important thing is that we made it there safely. And, I am sure that if any one single person had demanded to be let off the plane while we sat on the tarmac, we would have turned around and went back to the gate. Personally, I would like to thank the crew of our flight for helping us make the most out of this experience.
Sure, US airways also probably made a mistake by letting us sit on the tarmac for over 6 hours, but, we all survived.
quote: “...an overeager crew trying to make sure the flight took off and landed in Orlando.“
An overeager pilot ended up killing himself and many other when Palm 90 crashed into the Potomac some years back. Air Tran is the old Valujet. I’d rather stay at home than fly with those guys. On a side note, what’s President Obama going to do about all this ice? :)
Yeah, well, here’s the thing: “Passengers spend nine hours on the tarmac waiting for takeoff.“ is disappointing. You have my sympathy. It could not have been pleasant. But it reads a whole lot better than “Over 200 die in flaming crash when airline pilots put schedule ahead of safety and attempt takeoff in ice-coated aircraft.“ Put it in perspective.
What an ordeal. I admire people that can endure such a situation. Being confined in that kind of space for that long and without food and water, would have put me into full panic mode. Let’s say, it would not have been a pretty sight.
Perhaps planE “coated in ice.“ ITS nice toO reEd that I am Knot alone with that type error!
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