So this morning's flight from ORD to LGA was a little more eventful than usual... First off, it left on time, which is rare enough to be mentioned. But it's only about 15 minutes before landing that things got really interesting.
I had just put away my iPod when I heard a thump thump thump sound coming from somewhere. Or maybe it was a flop flop flop. It sounded a bit like helicopter blades. The flight attendant had a fairly puzzled look on her face, and the road-warrior Mr. Corporate next to me also seemed a bit unnerved, which I took as the signs that the thump thump thump might in fact be the sound a fuselage makes moments before it peels off like a banana. After a few seconds, the sound stopped, and I turned my attention back to grinding my armrest with my fists.
Ten minutes later, the sound happened again. This time, the pilot went on the PA to let us know he had no idea what it was (reassuring), and that the engines looked (again, awesome choice of words) OK. He then let us know we'd be landing right away (we were already by LGA, so we basically just got immediate clearance as opposed to waiting around in circles like we usually do) and not to be alarmed if we saw emergency vehicles cruising down the runway with us after we touched down. Feeling the plane touching the tarmac was definitely a nice relief.
I have no idea what it turned out to be, but the emergency thing had its pluses: they unloaded the plane (passengers and bags) promptly so all the luggage was out on the carousel within, literally, 5 minutes of landing.
Awesome fun.
I had just put away my iPod when I heard a thump thump thump sound coming from somewhere. Or maybe it was a flop flop flop. It sounded a bit like helicopter blades. The flight attendant had a fairly puzzled look on her face, and the road-warrior Mr. Corporate next to me also seemed a bit unnerved, which I took as the signs that the thump thump thump might in fact be the sound a fuselage makes moments before it peels off like a banana. After a few seconds, the sound stopped, and I turned my attention back to grinding my armrest with my fists.
Ten minutes later, the sound happened again. This time, the pilot went on the PA to let us know he had no idea what it was (reassuring), and that the engines looked (again, awesome choice of words) OK. He then let us know we'd be landing right away (we were already by LGA, so we basically just got immediate clearance as opposed to waiting around in circles like we usually do) and not to be alarmed if we saw emergency vehicles cruising down the runway with us after we touched down. Feeling the plane touching the tarmac was definitely a nice relief.
I have no idea what it turned out to be, but the emergency thing had its pluses: they unloaded the plane (passengers and bags) promptly so all the luggage was out on the carousel within, literally, 5 minutes of landing.
Awesome fun.
)
