V-Flyer

Does anyone know what happened to the mco gatwick flight last night it appears to have gone via boston?

Most likely a diversion for a medical emergency.

Think it was actualy the VS16 on Thursday evening which diverted to Boston - not sure if it was a technical/medical issue but G-VROS did not continue to LGW until last night, so something delayed it for 24hrs.

Jon

Was on VS16 landing this morning, and was delayed 2.5 hours due tech issue on outbound (I was told).

Looks like a 744 had to be found at short notice for yesterdays 015, and both this mornings 016 and yesterdays 016 landed within hours of each other today

VS flight status says this for the VS16 on the 3rd November.

**Due to unforeseen circumstances this flight has been diverted to Boston** We regret this flights departure has been delayed overnight in Boston

And if you want to see how far it got...

http://uk.flightaware.com/live/flight/V ... /KMCO/EGKK

Ok so something serious enough that they needed to divert rather than fly across the Atlantic but not so serious that they had time to go to BOS rather than Gander, Halifax orSt John's

tontybear wrote:Ok so something serious enough that they needed to divert rather than fly across the Atlantic but not so serious that they had time to go to BOS rather than Gander, Halifax orSt John's

The plot thickens

I was unfortunately on board. The pilot apparently did not feel comfortable going across the Atlantic as there was a problem, the reason given was that the air-con was faulty and that some passengers could smell something funny. The decision was made to go to Boston rather than Halifax because Boston is a Virgin destination and so has ground staff in place. We were told we would be on the runway for 80 minutes and would resume the journey.

However, considering it was an air-con fault, there were lots of anxious staff rushing to and fro. On two occasions, the pilot called for the cabin crew to be in position, with red lights flashing, the passengers can only assume for an emergency landing. We cruised back to Boston at 24,000 ft and on arrival, glided in to land. It certainly did not feel that the aircraft had all power, with strange engine noises and we made the softest landing imaginable for an aircraft that size. It really did just glide in and stop almost immediately. I have never before been on a British aircraft where the passengers applauded the pilot upon landing.

The engineers quickly boarded and just as quickly we were informed that the flight would terminate. We were then told that the flight would depart again at 23.40 local time, some 22 hours after landing.

I have several complaints about our experience, but most relate to the disgraceful way we were treated by Virgin in Boston. What I will say is that the cabin crew and cockpit crew, from what I could see, all acted extremely professionally given the difficult circumstances. Safety comes first, but my wife and I also commented upon boarding the plane in Orlando that it felt dated. Maybe it's time to retire that aircraft gracefully or make it first in the queue for the Gatwick aircraft refurbishment that was announced recently.

As an aside, when the flight recommenced, the fault was apparently a reading light(!) and not air-con. I am fully aware that the crew were protecting passengers by not giving them the full story in order to avoid widespread panic, but at least keep the story consistent!

They has smoke in the cabin and made a precautionary landing in Boston, closer airports were available if situation deteriorated.

There was snow showers in Gander on the 4th.

forgottenbyvirgin wrote: Safety comes first, but my wife and I also commented upon boarding the plane in Orlando that it felt dated. Maybe it's time to retire that aircraft gracefully or make it first in the queue for the Gatwick aircraft refurbishment that was announced recently.

While it's good that the aircraft landed safely and no-one was hurt, it's a bit unfair to say the aircraft needs retiring.

G-VROS is only 10 years old, as of December 2010 only had 49000 flying hours making it one of the newest 747-400's flying in the world. Yes, the interiors do need refurbishing but there's a huge difference between interior condition and overall maintenance.