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!