USAIR TALES #11- KDCA - KPIT Passing the Torch...

What a month it has been...

We started the month with a company wide groundstop, as we managers scrambled to salvage what was left of our flight dispatch and ACARS tools... not to mention fielding all sorts of questions from worried pilots... fearful of their future with the company, let alone the stability of it.

True to my word, I made a vow to our pilots that we would be back on target soon, and sure enough within the month we had a brand new system that was indeed hackerproof!

Now during this time, I also asked for Steeler Air to be refitted with some new avionics, and the downtime was indeed welcome for all of us on crew. When we got it back we flew a checkride to Washington DC, KDCA... and parked it there for the weekend, in prep for our official passenger flight back to KPIT.



The new and improved N733UW... complete with the "Wilco" package installed was ready to head home.

But I had another pleasant surprise aside from the lifting of the groundstop... Last night at the Watergate an impromptu gathering of managers and board members, named me Vice President of Focus City hubs! A deep honor to be sure, it did not actually sink in till I woke up this morning to Tiffany beating me with my pillow. I guess the party caught up with us and we had 20 minutes to get to the gate.

We made it in time and met up with Barney and the others at gate B27.



Josh and Dan were there as well, getting ready to head out. Unbeknownst to Dan, last night I had named him my replacement as head of KPIT, and I had a little surprise ready for him when he got there with Allegheny Air. Just so happened he was in DC as well on his way to Charlotte... as was Josh a few minutes earlier. Josh and I had been joking about our friendly landing rivalry... since my skills have been a little off with our downtime. Josh of course had the company wide nickname of "Strutbuster", for his less than pillow soft landings, but he was determined to show me up. I promised to call him when I got to KPIT with my landing figures... and he was to do the same when he arrived at Charlotte in "Panther Air".

We said our goodbyes, and got to work on our preflight checklist.



A few minutes later the comm crackled to life as Josh was begging and pleading to go in front of some UAL and American traffic... and I could have sworn at one point the Tower warned him if he did not chill out that he was going to wait till every single RJ in DCA had taken off.

Hahaha... That's our Josh, always pushing the envelope to "Git R Done!"

Eventually he roared out of DC like a bat out of hell, and it was Barney and my turn to pushback.

I could hear Dan calling for his taxi instructions, runway 22... I figured we would be headed down that road in a minute or two as well.



I watched as the jetbridge disappeared into the terminal, and the trucks got out of our way, as we hit the ignition and started engine two. It was then that Barney turned to me with the most quizzical look on his face.

"So Boss... how did the party go last night? You and Tiffany have fun?"

Umm Barney, I am not quite sure how to answer that... the party went... VERY WELL.

"Yeah but did you and Tiff HAVE FUN?"

I am not sure I appreciate what you are insinuating there...

Barney chuckled... He knew my marriage was on the rocks anyway.

"Not insinuating anything there Boss, but enquiring minds wanna know. Let's just say Wanzetta, George and I have our.... speculations."

OMG... You all are like a bunch of old ladies looking for gossip. I am NOT answering that.



As I watched Dan take Allegheny Air down the taxiway I added...

Besides... a gentleman never tells.

The look on Barney's face was priceless!

I quickly changed subject and called for our taxi clearance.



I have to admit the new improvements to Steeler Air were done in short time, but very well done. The new Wilco package finally fixed the issues I had been having with the FMC (flight management computer) and if we played our cards right, this sucker could even take off on its own now! I have to admit I still have not read all the manuals that came with the upgrades, so I expected Barney and I would have to hold on to the sidesticks a little longer than usual during the flight.

With so much on my mind who has time...

Strained relations with Jess... Spending a lot of time with Tiff... Missing my daughter Lolo, still in Florida, possibly for the next year... Not to mention all the company issues. It's enough to drive a man to drink... which of course I did last night at the party. I was just glad that US Air Virtual was back on its feet... and the new dispatch and pirep systems being debuted within the day would certainly be cause for celebration from KBOS to KLAS.



We pulled up behind Dan in the Allegheny Air... Waited for him to get his takeoff clearance, then did our final checks. I could hear Air Wisconsin coming in on approach, so we would have to hustle, unless DCA decided to hold us short till they landed... not likely at this airport.

I consulted my manual once more, and went over with Barney one more time the procedure. Screw the FLEX... We are gonna need to get off the ground fast, I'm setting us for TOGA speed.

"Alright Boss... Your call..." Barney replied as I caught him out of the corner of my eye making the sign of the cross over his chest.

I rolled my eyes...

Sure enough as Air Wisconsin was on final, we were told to position and hold... then some dangerous seconds later... cleared for takeoff...

In true Star Wars style I yelled to Barney "PUNCH IT!"

Barney did his best Chewbacca growl, and jammed the trottles to their most forward setting.



We made it!!!!

Steeler Air rotated all on its own at 138 knots, and began positive rate of climb over the southern parking lot. Damn I hate short runways... but we were UP! That was all that count. I retracted our gear and flaps, and began our climbout. On the comm I could hear DC tower order Air Wisconsin to go around.

Oops hahaha. Well better him than us. DC was unusually hazy today, so I had Barney keep a keen eye out for the company traffic lest we wander a little close to them. I already had my hands full ensuring we did not enter any restricted space around Washington. I was NOT about to be escorted by any F-15s today.

That's what makes DC such a challenging arrival and departure... so many restrictions. Now that I was in charge of US Air Virtual's presence here, as well as Pittsburgh, La Guardia, and Boston, I am sure I will be visiting a lot.



"Gear up and good to go Boss"

Ok Barney, let's slip this baby back to CLIMB setting, and we'll see how well we can get on course and altitude with the new systems.

Barney adjusted the throttles as I called DC Departure for our vectors out of their airspace. It seemed like the higher we got the more hazy it became around Washington. Good thing I brought my portable GPS with me to keep an eye on those restricted areas...



I could see the bridge south of the airport. There's our cue, time to do a 180 and head back to the north...

As if the airplane read my mind, Steeler Air began the gentle right turn over to Dulles Airport to get back to our proper track.

Man I LOVE these new systems!

"I think it kinda takes the fun out of it Boss... I mean we are just like passengers now."

I guess you could say that... but that is what THAT button is for... As I pointed to the AP (Autopilot) disengage switch. For now I enjoyed my new, smarter plane.



Over 6000 feet and heading in the right direction for KPIT... almost... still under the auspices of DC center... and having to follow every order by the book. You know I often wonder if the Air Force would actually scramble and shoot us down if we strayed one iota from our flight plan?

No time to worry about that... Just follow the SID (standard instrument departure) and the tower. In a couple minutes we would be out of their hair anyway.



Ahh the Watergate. Not the first time I have stayed in that hotel, but I cannot help but think this time was made a little bit better by Tiff's company. To be honest I was gonna go stag to the meeting, till I found out it was also a party, and I figure I owed Tiff a good time since she had been patiently putting up with my stress and freakouts during our groundstop.

She'd really become a real close friend to me. I will be honest... I don't remember much of last night past 9PM, considering the party started at 5... but whatever happened, I am sure it was memorable.

I do know when she closed our cockpit door prior to takeoff, she had a grin on her face like the cat that swallowed the canary...



17000 feet... and I decided to extinguish the seatbelt signs, and send the girls (and boy) down the aisle with snacks. Ever since we started charging for those dinky little things, my aircraft seemed to be backlogged with them.

How I wish the price of gas would go down... it seems like everyone is being nickle and dimed to death in a vain attempt at "preserving profits."

Meanwhile Southwest makes out like a bandit with cheap gas for the next umpteen years.

Somebody somewhere is pocketing the profits of everyone's heartburn and worry... but it sure as hell was not me. I got the strange feeling I may have just overflown those people on our takeoff...



Well the moon was still up. That was a good sign. I always consider it good luck to fly when the moon is there to guide me.

I was interrupted by Tiff at the door.

Come on in Tiff. Door's unlocked.

"Hey Drew... did you and Barney want anything to eat?"

Barney turned up his nose in disdain at the prospect of pretzels.

I think I am gonna pass as well. Hey Tiff... you up for dinner this evening, nothing fancy... the usual Red Lobster.

"Sure thing Drew. What time?"

I'm thinking 6ish? I gotta wait for Dan to get back with Allegheny Air before I can leave the office.

She nodded in agreement and with that same grin on her face, and a rosy tone in her cheeks, closed the door behind her.

Barney's eyes just about bugged out of his head.

"I KNEW IT!"

...

I glanced down at the picture of my daughter on the dash...



You knew WHAT?

"There IS something going on between you two! I could sense it from that time in Jamaica!"

Barney you're imagining things...

"Oh yeah, then why does she have that big schoolgirl grin on her face everytime she makes eye contact with you!? Aaaah aaaah? Come on Boss, don't lie. You been tapping that, haven't you?"

I dunno what you are talking about Barney. Now can we change the subject please.

"Uh huh.... sure thing boss... heh heh heh."

IT'S NOT FUNNY Barney!!

"I know boss.. I'm just saying... nothing to be ashamed of if you WERE hypothetically doing the boinky boink with her. She's a hottie afterall, I'll give her that."

Barney do me a favor please... SHUT UP!

...

Five minutes later I heard a silent chuckle... I rolled my eyes again.



One thing about the DC to PIT run... it's a very short hop. Seems like no sooner the crew has served snacks they have to take back the empties. I don't even know why I bothered to file our flightplan for a cruise at Flight Level 3-0-0, because not even five minutes after levelling off at altitude, Cleveland center is asking us to come back down to FL240.

I made a mental note the next time to simply file for 24000 feet instead. That will save time... and gas. Lord knows the CEO has been on my butt lately about conserving fuel. Seems us Focus City pilots like to carry a little extra... just in case. That's now a no-no. In fact as part of our downtime "retraining" we even had to go to this course where they "taught us" how to load fuel more judiciously.

Can't say I was too pleased about that.



Oh well, in a couple hours it won't matter to me anyway. I had a few days off, and this plane would be in the hands of my new KPIT manager, Dan. At least till I asked for it back sometime.

I could only imagine how pleased he was going to be to be able to fly the flagship for Pittsburgh Station, especially with the new upgrades, which were also in his current ride.

I guess the tradeoff of planes would not be so bad afterall.



"Hey Boss... whatever happened to that girl, Candy? Remember her from Vegas?"

Candy... yeah... I remember her. She's got loyalties to Will... We probably won't be seeing her for a while. He's holding on tight to all his flight attendants I hear.

"She was pretty cute too... Not as cute as Tiffany I am sure, but still..."

Oh Good Lawd. Ok Barney, what do you want me to say?

YES...

Tiffany and I had sex last night. There you happy now?

He beamed with glee!

I called Cleveland center for vectors to the NESTO approach.



I dunno why I did it really...

Yes my marriage was definitely on the rocks, and I had not seen Jess for months... but it was not like I INTENDED to get so involved with Tiff... But let's face it... She and I have been everywhere. When I was at my most stressed and depressed the last month, she stood by me.

Is it any wonder things happened the way they happened?

Does that make me a bad man?

Does it?

I was not about to tell Barney all of this. The less his gossipy self knew the better. As it is, I had already said too much.



I looked back to Lolo. I really missed her. I was not sure when next I would see her... and quite frankly the house was too quiet without her there, and Pedro barking day and night. Heck even with RoseMarie gone to Jamaica for the summer... it seemed like the house had no life anymore. It was just a multiroom hotel that I had the privilege of sleeping in from time to time, and paying the mortgage and bills for.

This had surely been a pretty eventful summer, even for the company itself. I was amazed that I at least had some semblance of sanity with things happening left and right. But in spite of it all... I was now the Focus City Vice President. Whether I liked it or not, my respect level with the higher ups went up... and my workload increased.

Somehow I doubted my stress level would go down however...



I could hear Tiff do her singsong announcement for the passengers as we began our final into KPIT. The whole time nosy Barney is chuckled quietly in his seat, his own private joke at my expense.

At least the weather was good. A little windy, but still clear enough for us to come down on 28C, which would put us right in line for a quick turnoff to the terminal.

It was then I remembered that I still had not mastered the new ILS system, so I decided to come in manually after we got our clearance to land. I can only imagine what "Strutbuster" Josh was doing right now in CLT... as both the mechanic pool as well as the landscape and concrete guys were probably on standby to patch up any craters he left on his touchdown. Well one thing I will say about his landings... they are job security for a lot of people.



Downtown Pittsburgh... aka the Golden Triangle.

Once again a telltale sign that I was home.

I could not wait to get home... well... by way of Red Lobster anyway.

"OK Boss, we're lined up... got a pretty brisk crosswind, you sure you wanna do this by hand?"

Yeah... Ok standby to disengage AP.



Disengage!

As we passed Heinz Field, I could feel Steeler Air lurch a little as the controls came back to my fingertips, and I gently nursed the throttles back to idle. Just think... in a few short weeks that stadium would be full with my beloved Steelers... Well, it's a distraction anyway from the other things on my mind lately...

Barney called to the tower that we were clear to land, and with both of us watching the important numbers, we started to bring her in.

The wind as expected started tugging on our tail, and I had to correct a little for the drift.



I figured I would bring her in nice and easy, and cut power at the last minute to float her down.

With both Barney and I riding the rudder pedals, we tried to keep the aircraft lined up all the way in... a little wobbly...

a little right...

a little left...

a little high...

ok cut back...



A little OFF CENTER!!!

Ugh... well at least our landing vertical speed was not bad... -48.4 ft/min. Beat that Josh!

The spoilers came up and we began our slowdown to the turnoff...

I had heard on company radio that Dan was due to depart CLT in a couple minutes... so I figured I have at least an hour in the office waiting for his arrival.

But first... let's get these passengers offloaded.



It felt kind of wierd when the tower ok'd me to pull up to gate B27. Same gate number we left DC from... but not our usual gate... B30. I guess they were going to put Dan there when he got in, since I would be flying that plane from here on out anyway.

There was a knock on the door. Barney reached back and opened it to reveal a tall african american lady... Wanzetta. The two started mumbling.

Umm, y'all mind sitting down please till we get to the gate?

I could barely make out... "50 yeah. Tell George he owes me too"

Wanzetta shook her head and left.

What was that all about Barney?

"Ooooh nothing Boss... umm... insider stock trading..."

Uh huh...

I was not stupid... I knew those scamps probably had a bet going to see if Tiffany and I slept together.



As I pulled up to the gate Barney seemed in a rush to get out of there.

"Congrats again Boss! See you next week! Hee hee hee!"

What the... You guys are nuts you know that... I dunno what you all are up to, but you guys are NUTS!

I sat in the plane a little while longer... knowing that once Dan returns he will be flying the lion's share of flights with it, and I would miss my Steeler Air.

I grabbed Lolo's picture from the Dash, and neatly put it inside my flight bag with my laptop.



From out in the jetway I could hear Tiff telling whom I could only assume to be the other flight crew...

"YES I DID! And you know what? He was FABULOUS!"

... then footsteps up the jetway...


I decided to stay in the plane a little while longer.

An hour later, like clockwork, Dan showed up. I had him meet me at B27 for the official changeover, and as I expected, the look on his face was ecstatic as he officially got his new boards reading Dan Milsop - KPIT Station Manager, and the official "keys" to Steeler Air. I thought he was going to cry there for a second, but he was ok.

This is your baby now Dan. Make us all proud.



I turned around and headed up the jetway, passing Dan's First Officer on the way down...

Tiffany was waiting at the desk with a slip of paper for me.

From Josh... -227. ft/min

Hahahaaha

"Strutbuster" strikes again.

USAIR TALES #10- MWCR - KBOS Dude... where's my plane?

So for the month of June we decided to have a friendly rivalry between East hubs and West hubs, and of course East Side boys and girls were kicking butt and taking names... Far be it from me to underestimate the wiliness of the west... But I was about to find out just how devious they could be as I awoke one Sunday morning in the hotel I was staying at in Philly.

I should have figured something was up when I saw the group of flight attendants bickering near our assigned gate, and Tiffany was already there wagging her finger at the desk clerk. I could see Barney shaking his head, when he caught sight of me and sprinted over...

"BOSS! We have a problem... look!"



There sitting at gate B8 was a regular colored US Airways A320. Umm... that's not "Steeler Air"!

DUDE, Where's my plane? I demanded of the desk clerk. Stuttering and stammering he proceeds to tell me about the aircrew that came in a couple hours earlier saying they had to take MY plane to maintenance.

WHAT THE?!?!??! I am LIVID!!! So now we have two aircrews here vying to use this one aircraft. This is not going to fly... pun intended. I get on the phone to dispatch... just as I am on hold Scott from Charlotte Hub comes up.

"Drew! What are you doing in here? I thought you were in Cayman? I saw your plane headed there earlier!"



GRAND CAYMAN?!?!?!?!

I thank Scott for the info and rally my crew around the desk. Ok folks... this has GOT to be West Side messing with us. We're gonna get them back though. Everyone get your jumpseat pass... we got a plane to catch.

The passengers watched dumbfounded as my crew basically waltzed on board and plopped down in First class. Needless to say the Philly Captain Raheel was not exactly too pleased about us taking over first class... but I reminded him of the good word I put in for him to get his current job as Personnel manager, and it would be for the honor of the East Side if he flew us down there. Well that and a bribe of a cheesesteak from Pat's was enough to convince him...

We settled in for the flight.



Owen Roberts International... Grand Cayman. My grandmother used to live on this island as a child... may she rest in peace. Now I had to catch a wayward plane...

At the end of the apron, there she was. I rallied the crew together, and we basically told the other crew there to shove off... we were taking our plane BACK! If I ever had any doubts as to how N733UW got to Grand Cayman, the moment Barney and I stepped into the cockpit... all doubts were erased.



I'm gonna get you West Side... if it's the last thing I do!

Other than that the aircraft seemed to be in the same shape as I left it. They think that by absconding with my aircraft it will make it more difficult for me to log my flights for the East Side... HA! Apparently you do not know the resiliency of the Black and Gold crew!

The only problem here is there are no flights from Grand Cayman to KPIT... so looks like we have to fly this route to Boston instead. BONUS! Two flights for the price of one... more points for East Side! I get our clearance and inform our passengers and crew that we are outa here....

Much to the chagrin of the crew stuck in Owen Roberts Int'l. They'll have to catch the next flight out.



Hot on the heels of Air Jamaica, I get us through the pre-takeoff checklist and taxi down the apron. Now one thing you should know about MWCR... there is only ONE runway... no taxiways... so they made a creative routing to get to the button...

I have to admit I have never quite seen anything like it, but hey, if this is how to locals do it, then it is good enough for US Airways Virtual.



We turned off the runway to the General Aviation area and pulled up behind a Cessna Caravan bound for one of the smaller islands. Air Jamaica of course was taking its own sweet time to get to the end of the runway and line up for takeoff.

FINALLY! Now all we had to do was wait for slowpoke Cessna here to get off the ground before we could boogie on out of here. From the looks of it there are a few thunderstorms moving into the area... as I could see flashes over the water... ANY DAY NOW CESSNA!!!

I turned to Barney, do I really fly that slow when I am in mine?

"Ummm I wouldn't know boss, I am usually asleep when you take me with you, hee hee."



Mmmm, Foster's Foods... I bet they have some really good seafood in their market. Shame I do not have time to stop.

Let me just say that maneuvering an aircraft as big as this A319 around a small runway threshold is an event in and of itself... as all the little Cayman kids lined up at the fence can tell you. I know you have all heard of a three point turn. Can't do that in an airplane... so my turn to lineup looked more like a jerky, stop and go, 100 point turn...

3 minutes later, I was almost lined up... Next time we come here I will have Barney do this, as he is laughing at me from the First Officer seat.



WHAT?

I'll get it eventually! You act like you have done this before... I wanna see you try this.

Now I knew why holding short was usually a lengthy affair at this airport.

Tiff popped her head in to make sure we were ok...

Yeah Tiff... we're fine... strap yourself in please.



I made a mental note to lock the cockpit door from now on... I should have been doing it anyways...

sigh...

Ok lined up finally, and a call to the tower that we are ready... The plan is set... takeoff on the runway heading... within 2 minutes make pretty much a left hand circle over the airport while climbing to 10,000 feet. Avoid thunderstorms... got it.

N1 please Barney... let's get the flip outa here.



A few minutes more and we would have been in minimum visibility weather... I hate taking off like that.

I looked out the port side window and gave a mock wave to the crew stuck at the airport. I'll probably get an earful from their hub manager when I get to Boston, but oh well...

We did as instructed and looped back over the airport...

Nice airport... as the rains make their way in...



Better them than me I say... Next stop, Boston.

Now the turbulence on the way up was a little spirited... so I made sure to announce to our passengers that the fasten seatbelt sign was going to be on a lot longer than expected... according to METARs we were looking at a whole parade of thunderstorms from the Cayman Islands to Cuba. I prepped Barney on the slight modifications we would need to do, and we proceeded to do the thunderstorm slalom through the worst of it.



Suddenly I found myself thinking about Keith Wiggand... the pilot that quit last month in Jamaica... as he would say... just a little raincloud.

Kind of a metaphor for life too when you think about it... It is inevitable that we all go through some rainclouds, and while at times it may seem that the storm is about to wipe us out... we burst through the clouds and find ourselves back in smooth skies in due time. I had heard rumors about the upper level management having some trouble... but I am sure it will all smooth out as well.

I am just happy to fly... and keep KPIT running.



All things considered, it could have been worse... by the time we hit the cluster of thunderheads we were already passing through 16,000 feet. Only slight modifications to our flight path were needed to keep us out of the worst of it. By time we hit Cuba I should be able to turn off the fasten seatbelt signs.



Good planning on our part it seems favored us. The worst was passing and we were well on course at top climb speed for our cruise altitude...

With Grand Cayman turning into a dot on the horizon, I took one last look back, and thought of my grandmother...

When she was alive she was a constant source of inspiration for me. You might even say she is part of the reason why my flight reports are written as they are... She was always a stickler for telling an entertaining story...



I miss you "Mums"... this flight is for you.

With a tear building in my eye, I turned off the fasten seatbelt signs, and checked the map to make sure we were back on course.

"You ok Boss?" Barney asked.

Yeah man... I'm good. Let's bring her up to cruise and get some more speed going. I wanna reach Boston 10 minutes early... you know it's going to be busy there.

"Sure thing Boss... and you were right by the way... every storm passes."

I smiled at him.



Cuba was as usual no problem. Havana control was fine with us expediting our flight over, and had us over and away from the island in record time with no problems.

Our flight plan would take us over the Bahamas also, but not close enough to my old home of Florida... pretty much a blue water ops flight. I always like those... seeing the ocean is so peaceful... as long as we don't have to ditch in it!



This was as close to Florida as we are going to get today...

My thoughts ran on Jess... who had recently been laid off from Virtual Delta and decided she wanted to go back to Florida and study to be a nurse. I could not argue with her... she has to have her own life too... By now Lolo should be in South Florida with her for the summer as well...... and the dog. As we passed as close to the coast as we would get, I blew a kiss in her direction.

Well at least when I get home the house will be somewhat quiet. Rosemarie is scheduled to head to our homeland of Jamaica for the summer. Maybe I will catch up on my reading... the Flying magazines must be stacked to the ceiling by now.



As we made our way over Grand Bahama island, Tiff comes barging in yet again...

What now Tiff?

"Drew we have a problem. There are a couple of passengers stuck in the aft restroom."

SAY WHAT? How did they get in there?

"I dunno... but I suspect they were... well ... you know... mile high.... " Tiff started blushing.

OMG! NO! Not in my plane! They can get a hotel when they get on the ground. They're lucky we don't have an Air Marshall on board!

Barney see if you can get the door opened for them please... Great now I will have to have maintenance fix the lock when we get back to KPIT.



About 10 minutes later Barney comes back...

Well?

"Boss you know how they say love is blind? Umm... yeah... Dude was as nerdy looking as they come... his wife or whatever she was... as big as they come... let's just say it is any wonder they fit in there in the first place!"

Did you reprimand them?

"OH YEAH... they were apologizing so much I thought they were gonna personally apologize to each passenger. Apparently they are from West Virginia, and went to Cayman for a getaway."

Jeez... what is with people these days... whatever happened to decency and decorum?

"I think that went out with the Reagan administration Boss hahaha."

Well make a note in the flight log, maintenance will have to take a look at the door...

"And the toilet boss... "

THE TOILET TOO? What the...



Finally over the US of A... and only a couple hundred miles till Boston. One thing I like about long flights like this is we at least get a decent meal. Tiff and the other flight attendants are worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned. Raheel and his crew should be making it back to Philly by now, since they left before us. I guess I better plan to be back there in a week to make good on my bribe...

Hey any excuse to get a good philly cheesesteak.

I could hear the ACARS ticking away... But did not bother to check it yet. I figured I would finish my meal... It was probably just the regular airline news report anyway.



Close to Long Island I figured I better read the slip of paper the system had spit out.

I almost choked on my last bite!

Word just came in that our CEO and about 80% of the board of directors had just quit, citing irreconcilable differences.

Barney and I stared at each other in disbelief.

"Well I guess here comes another storm Boss..."

Yeah... this was going to be interesting to see what happens. I am sure the airline can survive, but man will this be a huge blow to the morale of the troops. I made a mental note to contact all our KPIT based pilots once I knew more about what happened to assure them that we were still pressing onward.



By time we started our descent more word was coming in that a few of my buddies in management positions had also left... Including the recently landed Raheel, my KPIT Fleet manager Jordan, and my best buddy from the West Side, Isaac.

My heart sank...

The weather coming into Boston may have been decent... but that was nothing compared to the storm brewing in the airline.

I could only hope and pray reason and logic would prevail. Not much I can do stuck in a cockpit... except finish out my flight.



Boston tower seemed cheery enough anyway... considering they were beginning their "rush hour". We got our vectors in, and prepared to line up for final.

"Boss, what are we gonna do if things don't stabilize? I don't wanna have to look for a new job here."

I don't have any answers Barney, but I will say this... this airline is NOT going down the tubes on MY watch! All I ask is your patience, stick with me here and we will make it through...

It's just a little raincloud...



The wind was picking up a little on our final... I decided to disengage the autopilot and hand fly Steeler Air in... With Barney watching our speed, I took the task of announcing to all to prepare for landing, and I grabbed a hold of the sidestick.

Here we go...



WHOA!

A sudden updraft lofted us up a little higher than I wanted to be, but we could still salvage the approach... so in a coordinated ballet of inputs and maneuvers, I got us back on track and we gently settled down onto runway 33R.

Barney Autobrake setting to high please!

He got to it just in time.



Sweet, right on the centerline... the landing itself was not my best, but not enough that maintenance would have to curse my name while repairing the gear. I was thankful... we were here... in Boston. I still had to find out what was going on in upper management.

But first... traffic.



We sat there as Air France loitered, and I took the time to call up the KBOS manager to find out what his impressions were on what was going on. No such luck. He's out on a leave of absence...

Great... now I will have to wait.

ACARS ticked away... more bad news... our Events manager, Jason quit. JUST GREAT!

So much for East Side vs West Side...

Suddenly I felt like this was all for naught.



Without knowing what is going on, I figured my best course of action was to debark passengers, have the ground crew shove a little gas in, and head for my office in Pittsburgh.

Barney had no problems with that plan, so I had him call up dispatch to get us clearance to fly and empty flight back to KPIT. Today seemed to be the day for deadheading...

Lucky Scott was here and had switched planes for his beloved Panthers plane, so he could handle our passenger load while we headed back to KPIT.



As we parked I called Tiff and the others up front, and made them aware of what had transpired during our flight.

The important thing team is that we stick together. I WILL find out what is going on, but I promise you this... we will bounce back. We always do. We're USAIR virtual afterall!

"I told you before Drew... wherever you go, I go." Tiffany added.

Good so I can count on all of you to hang in there with me?

I put my hand out and all crew put their hands on top of mine.

It was decided...



We were off to KPIT as soon as they finished turning the plane around.

While waiting for the fueler to finish I put a call into my maintenance crew in KPIT making them aware of the bathroom issue that would need to be fixed.

I could see Scott heading out with the passengers that were supposed to be on our flight. I hoped they were not too disappointed. Flights get cancelled all the time in today's world. Why should today be any different.

As soon as I got the all clear from the ground crew, I had our flight attendants pick their seat in first class, and Barney and I started the number 2 engine.

Clearance to takeoff received... we decided to hustle outa here.



Normally I love stopping in Boston, but my mind was whirring...

So much has happened in a short time... and someone had to get this thing in shape.

I only hoped someone stepped up to the plate before I felt I had to.



We got back to Pittsburgh in record time.

By time I got to my desk, a new Interim CEO was appointed, and I found out that I had been nominated to the board of directors. The airline was definitely reeling. Apparently in the midsts of this someone also sabotaged our dispatch system... But thanks to the cool heads of the new CEO and the staff remaining, we were able to stop any further damage before it became critical. Our work now would be crucial... we basically had to rebuild the infrastructure of the airline... a herculean task to be sure... but it had to be done...

There was only one thing to do...

Full groundstop. No flights leaving or arriving. We will try to make this as quick a turnaround as possible, and we appreciate your patience with us during this transition.



Just a little raincloud...
This too shall pass...

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Happy Fourth of July everyone!