A pilot friend posted a comment about having to scrape ice from a windshield while in the air. It reminded me of one of my first "unscheduled" stops during my first month of flying!
I don't remember where we were heading, just that we were flying somewhere in Northern Michigan in January 1969. I was a "newbie", having just started my career. We were in a Convair 580 turbo prop.
At some point the First Officer came back into the cabin, looking out the windows over the wings. He said something to me about checking for ice, then returned quickly to the cockpit.
The next thing I knew the Captain made an announcement that we were making an "Unscheduled stop" due to icing conditions.
I made the announcement for landing, made my way up the cabin checking passengers, then entered the cockpit. It was dusk- just getting dark. The side windows were completely covered with ice! The clear view front windows were icing up, with over half the windows covered with ice. The pilots made some comment about something not working with the deicing and quickly went back to their check list.
Not knowing if we were going to have an emergency landing or not, I hurried back to my jump seat and mentally went through my procedures if things went bad.
Our landing seemed perfect! Smooth as silk, we could barely tell we were on the ground! I'm sorry to say I don't remember where we landed! I asked everyone to remain seated and ran forward to the cockpit.
The windshield had two little spots that were without ice- about the size of large eggs! The pilots were busy on the "horn" talking to the company. I didn't know if I should open the stairway door or not, so I just stood and stared at those windows!
Eventually I realized we were grounded. The pilot let the passengers know what had happened. I remember him saying the deicing for the cockpit window was not working, and we couldn't fly blind. The passengers seemed to understand. I don't remember anyone getting too upset.
We were not going any further! The company got a bus to get our passengers to their destination. We crew members spent the night in a hotel. The next morning a mechanic arrived on the early morning flight. We sat in an airport restaurant, drank coffee and waited. Finally we were told we were to "Fairy" the airplane back to Detroit. That meant we would be flying back with no passengers- only the crew and the mechanic.
This was the first time I was allowed to sit in the jump seat of the airplane during the whole trip. to me, a "newbie" it was quite a thrill! In my flight career I had several more times when I had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit. For me it never got old!
To this day I have no idea what mechanical issue caused the windows to ice over! But I have to say, to me those pilots with their cool heads and excellent skills were Heroes.
I asked how they had such a smooth landing when they could hardly see out! They grinned and said in unison "CONCENTRATION!"
Life Is Indeed An Adventure! And "Unscheduled" Stops Along The Way Makes For An Interesting Memory To Look Back On!
4 comments:
Enjoy your stories. Would like to hear more about your adventures in the 747's as those were much improved over the convair 240 and other piston aircraft.
Dale- Thank you for your comment! The 580 Convair was a turbo prop. I did love flying the 747! Back in the day the First Class service was such fun! I so enjoyed that time of my career!
All your stories are interesting, regardless of the type of aircraft. I worked for 45 years in the industry, starting with North Central and the DC-3. I worked at the ticket counter, in the customer service area, then Air Freight, and ended up in IT. I am glad I got to be part of the airline family.
Hi Marcy. I saw this story which made me immediately think of you. I hope you enjoy reading this bit of history although it can’t compare to the wonderful stories you have been sharing of your days with NC. https://simpleflying.com/north-central-airlines-history
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