The cheapest way to get from Seoul to Buenos Aries is via the Gulf. I guess this is simply a function of competition, with a large number of airlines flying from the SE Asian hubs – Seoul being one – to the Gulf and on to South America. There are fewer airlines flying across the Pacific.
I booked a flight with Qatar Airlines that went through Doha in Qatar. It had a 3 hours layover and transfer onto another plane before going on to Sao Paulo in Brazil and on to BA.
The first leg was fine as was that layover in Doha. We then headed off on the 14 hour leg to Sao Paulo. That took us across Africa, reaching the Atlantic Ocean south of Nigeria and on to the South American continent. There was quite a bit of turbulence going across central Africa and across the Atlantic. I guess this is to be expected if you are flying near to the equator. I have experienced several instances of severe turbulence when flying across, and near, the equator before.
Bad Weather Ahead
About an hour before we were due to land in Sao Paulo, the Captain announced that “there was bad weather ahead and that the airport at Sao Paulo had been temporarily closed for 30 minutes”. He said that there may be a delay in landing.
As we flew on, there was progressively more and more turbulence and we appeared to be constantly in cloud. An announcement was made that we were “commencing our decent in Sao Paula” and the cabin crew started making the usual preparations. The indicator on the maps screen on the entertainment system showed that we had 20 minutes to go before landing.
Bright Flash of Light
Suddenly there was bright flash of light in the cabin that came from outside.
One of the cabin staff ran to the back of the plane (I was sitting in the last row) and picked up a phone. She then ran back to her position towards the middle of the plane. There were no more announcements and the plane appeared to be slowly descending.
’5 – 20 Minutes to Destination’ for about 40 Minutes
The indictor of the altitude of the entertainment system appeared to be all over the place. One minute it was 14,000 feet, next it was 5,000, then 20,000 and back to 5,000 feet. It the same time the plane appeared to be slowly descending. There was no visibility.
The indicator showing the ‘Time to Destination’ was similarly all over the place. It fluctuated from 10 minutes to destination, to 20 minutes, to 5 minutes and back to 20 minutes.
Finally, we were able to see land out of the windows and we obvious near the near the runway. The indicator was showing ’10 minutes to destination’.
Very Strange Landing
We appeared to be landing very quickly and hit the ground hard. The plane also wiggled from side to side.
The engines and brakes were clearly engaged as hard as possible in stopping mode.
We didn’t draw into an Air Bridge at the terminal. There was a long wait before the passengers that were due to depart the flight at Sao Paulo were told that they could leave the plane.
Shortly after those passengers had left, it was announced that the passengers that were flying on to Buenos Aries would also have to leave the plane as “there was a mechanical problem that needed to be checked”.
Long Wait in the Terminal
The passengers going on to BA were directed through the ‘transfer’ area and to a departure lounge.
Most of the passengers appeared to be Argentinians with few able to speak English. I got into conversation with a South African couple who live in Perth. The bloke seemed to know about planes.
It was his view that the “flash of light was lightning hitting the plane” and that it had “done something serious to the on-board computer”.
At 8.00 pm we were told that an announcement would be made about the flight at 11.00 p.m. People will connections to other flights or other pressing needs to be in BA were clear distressed.
The Qatar staff confirmed that the problem with the plane was due to a “lightning strike”.
I went for a walk through the terminal. I came across another South African bloke outside the Business and First Class Lounge. He was seriously pissed off. He told me that the Qatar representative in the lounge had said “that the plane was not going anywhere tonight”. They were also “arranging for the crew to get to a hotel”. He was particularly pissed off, that the “customers appeared to be the representative’s least concern.
Fight Final Cancelled
When I got back to the gate, the other passengers were either standing around the Qatar staff asking for advice or just sitting back watching the scene.
The indicator board suddenly changed from ‘Flight Delay’ to Flight Cancelled’.
We were the led to the baggage collection and finally on to buses to the Bristol Hotel.
Checking into the Hotel
We got to the hotel about 11.45 pm. This was a real circus. There were two people at reception. The line of passengers quickly over 50 long. It took about 10 minutes to check in.
I was lucky to be near the front of the line and was able to check in fairly quickly. I suspect a lot of people.
I was glad to finally get horizontal.
What Happens when Lightning Strikes a Plane
Since this flight I have talked to a number of people about lightning striking planes. One was a Lufthansa flight attendant that I met on the train to Tigre. She told me that lightning strikes are common and normal they are not a big issue.
It would appear that this not always the case. Refer to link below.
I guess that I will never know, if the flight I was cancelled because that plane was damaged due to the lightning or the rough landing. Also was that rough landing due to loss on control because something the lightning did or was it due to the turbulence related to the storm?
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/2012_q4/4/
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billrider2013 