Story last updated at 7:43 a.m. Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Mechanical glitch forces return of plane to airport
BY JESSICA VANEGEREN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Charleston native Richard Hagerty attends boarding school three miles from the Pentagon. He vividly remembers Sept. 11, 2001, when the school's walls shook from the impact of terrorists flying a passenger plane into the government compound.
He wrestled with that memory Sunday night when he and 49 other passengers aboard a U.S. Airways flight were told to assume the crash position for "an emergency landing."
Many passengers held hands, prayed and phoned loved ones. Hagerty, 18, did none of those things. Seated in the exit row, he concentrated on the emergency row pamphlet to learn what he would need to do if the plane landed somewhere other than on a runway.
"I was paralyzed with fear. I didn't know how I would open that (emergency exit) door," said Hagerty, a senior at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. "When you have your face in your lap, it makes you think the situation is serious."
Hagerty said that although the flight attendant remained calm, his own frenzied state was fueled by the lack of information provided to passengers during the 20 minutes they remained hunched over in their seats.
"They never said where we were landing," he said. "For all we knew, we could have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. I didn't know where we were until the plane stopped and I sat up and saw the airport."
He was back at home, at Charleston International Airport.
Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman with U.S. Airways, said the plane returned to Charleston and was grounded because of a mechanical difficulty.
"Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew received a warning that the landing gear would not retract," Kudwa said. "The aircraft returned to the field. That happens every day."
She said it is typical procedure for passengers to assume the hunched-over, emergency crash position when there is a problem with the plane's landing gear.
"What happened on that flight was not routine," Hagerty said. "It was hell. People were talking on cell phones like it was their last conversation with their loved ones."
No incident report was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration detailing the difficulties experienced by the U.S. Airways plane Sunday.
Bill Twiddy, U.S. Airways station manager for Charleston and Myrtle Beach, did not learn about the incident until Monday morning.
Area officials with the Transportation Security Administration and the Charleston County Aviation Authority were not notified of the incident, an indication the flight was not grounded because of security reasons.
"I would have heard about it if it was anything security related," said Debra Engel, the TSA's federal security director for Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
Rattled, the passengers returned safely to Charleston instead of landing in Washington. Most, including Hagerty, walked off the plane crying.
"He (the pilot) deserves kudos for landing us safely," Hagerty said Monday.
Kudwa said maintenance crews in Charleston fixed the landing gear, and the plane again departed for its original destination at 7:50 p.m. Sunday. Twelve of the original passengers were aboard the second flight. Hagerty was not. His flight back to school departed Charleston about 4 p.m. Monday.
Mechanical glitch forces return of plane to airport
BY JESSICA VANEGEREN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Charleston native Richard Hagerty attends boarding school three miles from the Pentagon. He vividly remembers Sept. 11, 2001, when the school's walls shook from the impact of terrorists flying a passenger plane into the government compound.
He wrestled with that memory Sunday night when he and 49 other passengers aboard a U.S. Airways flight were told to assume the crash position for "an emergency landing."
Many passengers held hands, prayed and phoned loved ones. Hagerty, 18, did none of those things. Seated in the exit row, he concentrated on the emergency row pamphlet to learn what he would need to do if the plane landed somewhere other than on a runway.
"I was paralyzed with fear. I didn't know how I would open that (emergency exit) door," said Hagerty, a senior at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. "When you have your face in your lap, it makes you think the situation is serious."
Hagerty said that although the flight attendant remained calm, his own frenzied state was fueled by the lack of information provided to passengers during the 20 minutes they remained hunched over in their seats.
"They never said where we were landing," he said. "For all we knew, we could have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. I didn't know where we were until the plane stopped and I sat up and saw the airport."
He was back at home, at Charleston International Airport.
Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman with U.S. Airways, said the plane returned to Charleston and was grounded because of a mechanical difficulty.
"Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew received a warning that the landing gear would not retract," Kudwa said. "The aircraft returned to the field. That happens every day."
She said it is typical procedure for passengers to assume the hunched-over, emergency crash position when there is a problem with the plane's landing gear.
"What happened on that flight was not routine," Hagerty said. "It was hell. People were talking on cell phones like it was their last conversation with their loved ones."
No incident report was filed with the Federal Aviation Administration detailing the difficulties experienced by the U.S. Airways plane Sunday.
Bill Twiddy, U.S. Airways station manager for Charleston and Myrtle Beach, did not learn about the incident until Monday morning.
Area officials with the Transportation Security Administration and the Charleston County Aviation Authority were not notified of the incident, an indication the flight was not grounded because of security reasons.
"I would have heard about it if it was anything security related," said Debra Engel, the TSA's federal security director for Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
Rattled, the passengers returned safely to Charleston instead of landing in Washington. Most, including Hagerty, walked off the plane crying.
"He (the pilot) deserves kudos for landing us safely," Hagerty said Monday.
Kudwa said maintenance crews in Charleston fixed the landing gear, and the plane again departed for its original destination at 7:50 p.m. Sunday. Twelve of the original passengers were aboard the second flight. Hagerty was not. His flight back to school departed Charleston about 4 p.m. Monday.
