From the ABQ Journal
Christmas Eve Flight Turns Scary
By Jim Snyder
Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
A planeload of Christmas Eve travelers screamed during an emergency landing at the Sunport as a solo pilot pulled up violently during a first, failed attempt to touch down, a passenger said.
An Airbus A320 airliner carrying 122 passengers from Detroit to Phoenix was forced to land in Albuquerque at 9:11 p.m. Monday after its co-pilot suffered a possible seizure, said US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna.
Passenger Bill McClure, a retiree from Ypsilanti, Mich., said Wednesday the plane initially came in too fast to land. He said it flew about 50 feet over the runway before suddenly pulling up and making a hard-right turn to begin gaining altitude for a second landing attempt.
"I'm thinking we're not going to make it," McClure said, adding that he thought the plane was going to stall because it felt like it was going straight up.
"It was rocking and rolling ... (but the captain) got it up there."
US Airways Flight 285 had already made a rapid descent of nearly 4,000 feet per minute from 38,000 feet, according to Flight Aware, an online tracking service that compiles flight data.
"At times they were really pushing it over to get it down," said Collin White, of flightaware.com.
A normal rate of descent for an A320 in ideal situations is 1,000 to 3,000 feet per minute, Sunport spokesman Daniel Jiron said.
The airliner is designed to be piloted by a crew of two, Hanna said.
McClure said a flight attendant had announced that a doctor or a nurse was needed in the cockpit. Three people responded, and the cockpit door was left open the remainder of the flight.
One of the pilots was placed on the floor just outside the cockpit wall and attended to until the plane landed, McClure said.
Albuquerque firetrucks and other emergency personnel met the aircraft after it landed successfully on its second attempt.
The plane later continued on to Phoenix with a new co-pilot.
Diversionary landings are not unusual at the Sunport, Jiron said, because of Albuquerque's location along an east-west flight corridor. The airport averages about one a day, he said.
The co-pilot, whose name was not released, was taken to Presbyterian Hospital.
"I felt the pilot saved my life," McClure said.
Job well done Captian!! WE LOVE OUR PILOTS!!!!!! :wub: They are THE BEST!!!!!!! Thank you!! Does anyone have any info on the F/O? Is he/she ok?
Christmas Eve Flight Turns Scary
By Jim Snyder
Copyright © 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
A planeload of Christmas Eve travelers screamed during an emergency landing at the Sunport as a solo pilot pulled up violently during a first, failed attempt to touch down, a passenger said.
An Airbus A320 airliner carrying 122 passengers from Detroit to Phoenix was forced to land in Albuquerque at 9:11 p.m. Monday after its co-pilot suffered a possible seizure, said US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna.
Passenger Bill McClure, a retiree from Ypsilanti, Mich., said Wednesday the plane initially came in too fast to land. He said it flew about 50 feet over the runway before suddenly pulling up and making a hard-right turn to begin gaining altitude for a second landing attempt.
"I'm thinking we're not going to make it," McClure said, adding that he thought the plane was going to stall because it felt like it was going straight up.
"It was rocking and rolling ... (but the captain) got it up there."
US Airways Flight 285 had already made a rapid descent of nearly 4,000 feet per minute from 38,000 feet, according to Flight Aware, an online tracking service that compiles flight data.
"At times they were really pushing it over to get it down," said Collin White, of flightaware.com.
A normal rate of descent for an A320 in ideal situations is 1,000 to 3,000 feet per minute, Sunport spokesman Daniel Jiron said.
The airliner is designed to be piloted by a crew of two, Hanna said.
McClure said a flight attendant had announced that a doctor or a nurse was needed in the cockpit. Three people responded, and the cockpit door was left open the remainder of the flight.
One of the pilots was placed on the floor just outside the cockpit wall and attended to until the plane landed, McClure said.
Albuquerque firetrucks and other emergency personnel met the aircraft after it landed successfully on its second attempt.
The plane later continued on to Phoenix with a new co-pilot.
Diversionary landings are not unusual at the Sunport, Jiron said, because of Albuquerque's location along an east-west flight corridor. The airport averages about one a day, he said.
The co-pilot, whose name was not released, was taken to Presbyterian Hospital.
"I felt the pilot saved my life," McClure said.
Job well done Captian!! WE LOVE OUR PILOTS!!!!!! :wub: They are THE BEST!!!!!!! Thank you!! Does anyone have any info on the F/O? Is he/she ok?
