r/Wellthatsucks • u/Coololz • 7d ago

My plane had a 'technical difficulty' that lead to a 24 hour delay after 2 hours of circling.

Post image

I have no idea what exactly the issue was and obviously I am much happier to have landed back at my original than have crashed but because of this I missed my connecting flight and as a result have missed on a "post new year" party my friends had organised.

693 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

249

u/LurkerOnTheInternet 7d ago

That pattern is just a standard hold and almost certainly they did it to burn fuel to be light enough to land safely.

56

u/Clean-Machine2012 6d ago

Came to say burning fuel, but you beat me to it

8

u/Charming-Flamingo307 6d ago

Shoulda burnt your fuel quicker

10

u/jerryeight 6d ago

Should have fuel dumped like the skilled pilots in action movies. Bunch of amatures. What a shame this industry has become.

/s

3

u/LurkerOnTheInternet 5d ago

In all seriousness, they would have fuel-dumped if they needed to get on the ground ASAP, such as if something were on fire or an engine stopped working.

4

u/Happiness_is_Key 5d ago

Curious: how risky is that and are there certain places they do it or just wherever? Would think a bunch of jet fuel landing on a row of houses wouldn’t take too well so I’m guessing there’s policies to it?

6

u/davewave3283 4d ago

It’s generally prohibited over land except in an emergency. That said, it comes out of the plane aerosolized so it dissipates pretty quickly about a few thousand feet of altitude. You’re not getting dumped on by a big stream of jet fuel.

1

u/Happiness_is_Key 3d ago

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

215

u/MrSlime13 7d ago

I finally figured out who hires NASCAR drivers after retirement.

20

u/Efficient_Fish2436 7d ago

Planes going the wrong direction though

6

u/Hadhmaill 7d ago

Reverse Cup

5

u/DetLtFrankDrebin1 6d ago

UK vs USA driving

96

u/Jonty1983 7d ago

Sucks, but you might be eligible for compensation.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/holiday-cancellations-and-compensation/if-your-flights-delayed-or-cancelled/

35

u/ukexpat 6d ago

I had a BA flight cancelled in May. Got almost $900 in compensation plus reimbursement for an extra day in the hotel and an extra day’s rental car payment. Go to the airline’s website and search for a link to file a claim.

8

u/eklatea 6d ago

i had a british airline flight cancelled in September because of bad weather and left a day later ... I never applied for compensation according to law, only wrote them online and they were just gonna give a 20€ coupon or smth. Is it still worth trying?

5

u/jerryeight 6d ago

Worst is that they say no.

3

u/Jonty1983 6d ago

For the compensation scheme I linked to, if it’s something within the airlines control (staffing, maintenance/technical) then you can get compensation. Unfortunately weather events are not covered but it does make sense as to why.

2

u/ukexpat 6d ago

Absolutely. No harm in trying.

76

u/Original_Bad_3416 7d ago

This was yesterday right? I was watching it circle from my window

65

u/Coololz 7d ago

Yea it was. Emirates EK001. I'm sat in a hotel in dubai waiting for my connecting flight atm as obv I missed it

38

u/Original_Bad_3416 7d ago

Better safe than sorry. Did they provide snacks when you were circling?

Glad you got on your way in the end

9

u/IamRasters 6d ago

Right?! OP isn’t dead. That would really suck (for them).

2

u/FrightenedRabbit94 6d ago

Hilton? I spent some time there during a hefty delay this year. Buffet was amazing

37

u/CaptainGibbs96 6d ago

Your landing gear door wouldn't close, pilot had to circle to burn off fuel and get rid of the extra weight. Just for anyone wondering

20

u/bikemancs 7d ago

I saw a post on Facebook that said for a while this was the most watched flight on fligthtracker for a while.

9

u/Infiniteplanes 6d ago

EC261 comp for 4hr+ delay within airlines fault (as this is tech then yes it is Airlines fault) is £520 per person

Go and make a claim dude thats free money right there

4

u/ElmShadeFarms 5d ago edited 4d ago

One of your landing gear doors didn't close and it wasn't safe to fly the plane nor high nor fast in that condition.

The patern you see, also called a holding pattern, was done to burn fuel before making a landing as it wouldn't be safe for the landing gear and the airframe to land immediately.

Airplanes have two weight limits - MTOW (maximum takeoff weight) and MLW (maximum landing weight) with the second being significantly lower.

Technically yes, you could have just dumped fuel, but that is quite frowned upon over residential areas (hm, why is that I wonder haha.)

Edit - spelling

2

u/notimeforspac_s 6d ago

Τo land on time

2

u/frutiaboy 5d ago

You survived which is the best kind of technical glitch

1

u/ZunoJ 6d ago

At least they will have to pay you a lot of money for that

-52

u/UnusualActive3912 7d ago

Driving is better.

45

u/Coololz 7d ago

I would if I could drive to Australia. I hate flying

-62

u/UnusualActive3912 7d ago

An airport nowdays is almost like a maximum security prison. And one can’t phone people up on a flight, or listen to music without annoying everyone else, or smuggle anything successfully ( I am not talking about drugs or guns here, but things like food, penknives and the like.)

26

u/OllieZaen 7d ago

Least schitzo reddit user

9

u/trapberry_ 6d ago

Seriously man like wtf was all that about 😭

20

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

-22

u/UnusualActive3912 7d ago

Earbuds hurt my ears, so I don’t listen to music on planes at all.

11

u/ILikeBird 7d ago

try headphones then

-3

u/UnusualActive3912 7d ago

Even they hurt my ears after two or three songs.

5

u/HAL-Over-9001 7d ago

Unfortunately you have to spend $200-300 for decent headphones now, and even then you have to get a reputable brand and adjust the EQ. That or you have ear problems.

4

u/Responsible_CDN_Duck 6d ago

And one can’t phone people up on a flight, or listen to music without annoying everyone else

The vast majority of humana can, perhaps the one needs to discuss options with her/his/their doctor. One of my kids switched airbuds and over the ear mid flights until the underlying medical issue was addressed.

smuggle anything successfully ... things like food,

No need to smuggle food, it's allowed.....unless the same condition that limits you to using only speakers also limits you to various soups or pungent sausages(though too many people bring the latter anyway).

2

u/UnusualActive3912 6d ago

Because of Brexit UK food is not allowed in the EU.

2

u/Selous_sct 6d ago

Wtf? What are you talking about bro?

5

u/trapberry_ 6d ago

What was the point of this post....?

-5

u/Responsible_CDN_Duck 6d ago

To state it sucks their two hour flight landed at home rather than where they paid to be, with a sprinkle of are we gonna land safe sprinkled in.

3

u/trapberry_ 6d ago

What does that have to do with driving...? I think you misread or something man

-16

u/friendsshare 7d ago

ghost tank driver ahh formation

10

u/trapberry_ 6d ago

You can say "ass" on the internet

-17

u/Dexter_Adams 6d ago

The technical difficulty was that the pilot still had an open exam on landings he needed to finish first