An aborted take off and the aftermath

The world’s best airline. The second best airport in the world. What happens when the proverbial shit hits the fan?

6:00pm

“Flight crew to your stations please.”

The reassuring voice of the captain from the flight deck came over the PA system. The aircraft taxied to the head of the runway, turned around and came to a halt for those few moments before the take off. The engines gathered speed as the aircraft started thundering down the runway, all set to take off from Incheon, South Korea on its long hop to San Francisco late in the evening on the 5^th of May.

From my 44C aisle seat, I peeled my eyes from the LCD screen and looked out the window. I could see little more than the wing and the slats in the dim light. No number of years of flying can make me feel insouciant at the time of takeoff. Truth is, I’m still awed by flying, planes and everything connected to aviation. And from my seat, watching or visualizing the plane actually lifting off, the wheels folding, imagining the pilots manning the big bird through the clouds is now a habit. Oh and a prayer or two also, I must add. Perhaps my own way of being part of, in my opinion, what is a magical phenomenon.

I reckon we were maybe eight seconds, or ten at the most, from lift off when instead of accelerating the plane actually started braking. Momentum, braking efficiency, friction – all those concepts float by when a nearly full Boeing 777, about to lift off, is brought to an abrupt halt. That rare time when you appreciate why the seat belts are put in and thankful that you are wearing one. As the plane came to a shuddering halt, quizzical looks were exchanged till the pilot came back on and to say that he had aborted the takeoff on the orders of the control tower. You could be flying the greatest planes to the most exotic locations but the guy in the tower calls the shots.

We must have been sitting for about fifteen minutes at, what I’m pretty sure was, the very end of the runway when the pilot came back on again and shared further news. First about a plane straying on to our runway (gulp!) and then about flat tires and a brake system that is hot, dashing my hopes of a short delay. This could be longer. Many Indian parents (SQ16, May, California Spring…) had meantime started floating multiple theories, one more interesting than the other. Buses showed up about 30 minutes later and ferried us back to the terminal with our hand baggage and I could actually see the flat tires through the window. But this is the world’s best airline having issues at the world’s second best airport and I reckoned we could be airborne later that night.

7:30 pm “Let them have cake!”

The ground staff led us to the waiting area in front of the Krisflyer lounge. I identified two colleagues who were on the same flight – frequent flyers – and hence could shadow them into the lounge. The colleagues managed to take in 3 elderly folks to the lounge. As a fan of test cricket, you are familiar with the torture of rain delays in a tantalizingly poised game: a break in the rains – mopping – pitch inspection – new start time – more rains. The airline equivalent of this started playing out. The first announced 2-hour delay quickly became three after some checks and then four by which time it was rather clear that the chances of flying out that night were slim. No complaints there: ensuring flight worthiness of the aircraft and hence passenger safety is paramount. I’ll wait till you are satisfied. But I’m sure glad that I had access to the packed-to-the-gills lounge and hence some reasonably good finger food. The economy class folks in the waiting area outside, in the meantime, had been given a rough deal in what was the first of many goof-ups that night. Meal vouchers, I learned, were handed out but the restaurants had all closed down by that time, rendering them useless. Later some cake was then distributed to the folks. “Let them have cake!”

11:30pm “The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

It was finally announced that a special flight would be made available the following day at 1300hrs – a delay of nearly 20 hours - and that we would be provided accommodation for the night. Accommodation as in an hour-away-by-bus-back-into-Seoul and not something close by. The first class and business class travelers were whisked away separately. Again, no complaints: this is how the world works from temples to airports and everywhere in between. All of were asked to head to the immigration counter for canceling the departure stamp to allow re-entry or get a temporary visa issued as appropriate. In what was a masterstroke in customer service, when the elderly started looking for baggage trolleys, the Incheon airport officials informed us, rather callously, that no trolleys would be available as it was late night. Yes, the world’s second best airport couldn’t let the elderly and the infirm use baggage trolleys. We took turns helping out those who needed help with either walking or heavy bags.

A quick side note. Most Indian Americans, by default, seem to ask for wheel chair service for their traveling parents. Some of them genuinely need it; case in point the 88-year-old couple that was in the plane. But many others, don’t get me wrong, seem to be playing it extremely safe. A few fifty year-olds had been enrolled for the wheel chair service: I helped them with some paperwork and hence I know their age. Granted that I don’t know their medical condition to make a judgment on whether they really needed one. But as they say, it is a small world. I ran into some of them a few days after in the Bay Area, walking around just fine! My point? Walking during the layover and/or arrival would actually be better for them instead of more sitting from a health stand point. Again, this is not for everyone but something to think about.

Immigration was long and cumbersome given the lack of enough officials at that hour. More so for a few that required help with questions. The ground staff wasn’t around to help out here and we pitched in to help out to the extent possible.

2:00am

Buses took us to the Hilton at the foot of the Namsan Hill in Seoul. Check-in was not too bad but we were informed that dinner was not part of the accommodation plan. And needless to mention, food on the late night menu was steeply priced. We again helped out people with their bags and kids. Most of them required help with the card key entry, the lights, the faucets and figuring out window screens. By the time we could go to our rooms, it was past 3am.

10:00am

It was a grey, murky, wet morning and breakfast was a solemn affair. Everyone had one thing foremost on their minds: Can we get back to the airport and be on our way please? We were bussed back to Incheon and check in to the special flight was quick.We raised the lack of support at many stages since the aborted take off with the ground staff and requested this: that the really elderly be upgraded either to the business class or at least the premium economy section. No and no. After much haggling, they upgraded the 88-year-old couple to premium eco. I wish they were a lot more reasonable under the circumstances.

May be I sounded whiny. It is not my intention to be so and I consider myself as having been nothing short of extremely lucky. But what was truly appalling was the lack of adequate support and efficiency that should have been made available, particularly to those that needed it the most. Looking back at the incidents of that night, here are my takeaways in no particular order.

We were an extremely lucky group in that a plane straying on to the runway could have been much more, umm…serious? I don’t think I will know whose fault it was but full marks to the air traffic controller and to the pilot for making sure that a canceled flight was the worst thing that happened that night.

One would expect that things would be handled smoothly given that it is Singapore Airlines having an issue at Incheon. But the lack of coordination, bad communication/updates at every step of the way was stunningly bad! I could hear many people murmur that United Airlines (yes, United!) would have done a better job in that same situation.

If you need great service onboard, a fantastic entertainment system or finely customized meals to suit every palate, one needn’t look further than Singapore Airlines. But when things weren’t going according to plan, we got to take a look at their underside. Verdict: not very pleasant. Was it lack of experience or training for such a situation that led them to trip up the way they did? Whatever be the reason behind it, I hope they learned a thing or two from the incident.

Once again, full marks to the ATC and the pilot! Being around and healthy to post this is a better outcome than the other possibilities, the annoyances notwithstanding.