Dave McClung
7th May 2006, 08:20 AM (08:20)
Hans
If I had known we would be here this long, I would have made arrangements to meet you somewhere. It is now 2 p.m. and we will be here until 9 p.m. -- not quite enough to leave the airport.
Our flight left Seattle on time, but one of the passengers began having seizures not long after we were in the air. The crew kept working with her, but an hour and a half north of Edmonton, Canada they decided that she needed more medical care than was available on the plane. Since there are no airports for large planes north of Edmonton, we turned around and flew back to Edmonton.
In Edmonton, they took about two hours to complete the inspection of the plane. Because the plane had so much fuel, we were well above the normal landing weight. Apparently, they have to do extra inspections after an over weight landing. To make matters worse, Edmonton isn't the type of airport that has a "transfer lounge." If we had left the plane, everyone would have had to clear Canadian Customs. Customs and Edmonton isn't set up to handle 350 passengers at a time. That meant that we couldn't leave the plane.
Well, since we missed our connection, the rest of the Team went on to Kenya. I suppose that we will meet up with them in the next day or two.
It pays to be flexible when traveling internationally.
If I had known we would be here this long, I would have made arrangements to meet you somewhere. It is now 2 p.m. and we will be here until 9 p.m. -- not quite enough to leave the airport.
Our flight left Seattle on time, but one of the passengers began having seizures not long after we were in the air. The crew kept working with her, but an hour and a half north of Edmonton, Canada they decided that she needed more medical care than was available on the plane. Since there are no airports for large planes north of Edmonton, we turned around and flew back to Edmonton.
In Edmonton, they took about two hours to complete the inspection of the plane. Because the plane had so much fuel, we were well above the normal landing weight. Apparently, they have to do extra inspections after an over weight landing. To make matters worse, Edmonton isn't the type of airport that has a "transfer lounge." If we had left the plane, everyone would have had to clear Canadian Customs. Customs and Edmonton isn't set up to handle 350 passengers at a time. That meant that we couldn't leave the plane.
Well, since we missed our connection, the rest of the Team went on to Kenya. I suppose that we will meet up with them in the next day or two.
It pays to be flexible when traveling internationally.