VS201 HKG-LHR 19 Nov 06 (PE)

This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin

Ground Staff

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I've just joined v-flyer, so apologies for this belated report.

I checked to see if anyone else had reported from this flight. Couldn't find anyone. If there was a story about this please point me to it.

What's so significant? Sparks flying out of engine 4 on a A340-600? First Officer running like a mad man down the entire length of the aircraft? Significant enough?

It seemed like an ordinary trip back home from my Kylie pilgrimage. [:D] I'd decided I couldn't live with myself if I wasn't there for Kylie's return to the stage. My friends had already gone to Oz with Emirates. I literally booked to go just 3 days before departure. Who was I going to fly with? There was no doubt in my mind. BA. [;)] Kidding. BA isn't me. They're too stuffy and dated. Pam Ann definitely has them down to a tee. Of course it was Virgin. After meeting up with my friends seeing Kylie's show 4 times, and having appeared on Australian national TV news for my troubles, it was time to fly home. My friends headed off on their SYD-DXB-GLA route and on my SYD-HKG-LHR-GLA route.

The SYD-HKG leg was fantastic. I'd managed to get 4 glasses of champagne down before we'd even begun taxiing (is that a word?). The FA serving me was the best. So geniunely happy to serve. I was sitting besides a Virgin crew member (Charlotte) who had just finished her tour of duty with Virgin Blue and was on her way home. The Captain gave her a special welcome over the PA. I had visited a friend in Melbourne (Caroline) who was also crewing for Virgin Blue and Charlotte knew her. So it allowed things to be more friendly and comfortable. Sometimes it's weird sitting next to a stranger when you're travelling alone. I think I had one of the best seats possible in PE. 18H. Bulkhead. Tonnes of leg room. Enough to use the PE ottoman. The flight was flawless and there was just a general happy buzz about it.

Touched down in HKG and I headed off to shower. If you're not staying in Hong Kong for a few days, showering is a must. Great riviver. Re-boarded the same aircraft and began indulging in more pre-flight Laurent Perrier. I'm actually a nervous flyer. So a little tipple eases the stress. This time there was no Charlotte. Instead I had an old lady who had already drifted off to sleep. After the SYD-HKG leg had been so good I was very optimistic this HKG-LHR one. We took off, I had a huge smile on my face... and... immediately after becoming airborne the aircraft went into a holding pattern. I knew right away something was badly wrong. I always get tense during the ascent. So I kind of know how it should feel. Feeling the ascent halt and the plane bank starboard was not part of what I usually expect. Remarkably I remained calm. Perhaps it was disbelief. Although it was like I knew my luck had ran out. It was night time and the cabin lights remained dimmed. Pax began looking at one another wondering what the hell was going on. Then... and this really wasn't for the fearful flyer... the first officer (or engineer I'm not sure) came RUNNING and I mean RUNNING down the entire length of the aircraft. What was he doing? Where was he going? I looked back to see him leaning out of an economy pax starboard window. He then ran all the way back to the cockpit. Again we were all looking at each other wondering what was going on. The old lady beside me was still sound asleep. Then again the first officer came running down to look out the back windows. I began to think that this was it. Finally after all these years of worrying it was going to happen... this was going to be my crash. Too much Air Crash Investigation. I was convinced there was a problem that meant we had no hope of getting down in one piece. Fifteen minutes must have passed before finally the Captain began to talk to us. 'It's nothing to worry about'. Don't they always say that? 'HKG ground crew have reported to us that they witnessed SPARKS flying out of our engine 4'. At that moment I was thinking we were on the verge of exploding. 'Whilst there is no reported problem in the flight deck we believe it is in the interest of safety that we return to HKG'. 'However...' There's always a however. 'We, of course, are too heavy to land and we'll need to dump fuel. That'll take about an hour'. AN HOUR!?! We're going to be in the middle of the South China Sea, on a plane that's about to explode, and they're making us sit here for an hour. [:0]

The old lady woke up. I explained what was going on. She wasn't bothered. It was like something she experienced everyday.

I was quite disappointed. I was convinced this aircraft had carried me safely and smoothly to Oz and that it would carry me safely home. It was clearly brand new as well. What had happened I wondered? Was it like Concorde? Had a piece of junk been kicked up by a wake and smashed into our engine 4? I wouldn't find out the exact truth. If anyone knows, please tell me.

Finally, an hour and fifteen had passed and it was now time for us to approach HKG again. I didn't think we were going to make it. We touched down without so much as a bump. We then sat as ground engineering crew rushed to open up the afflicted engine. The Captain announced that we had to wait until the ground crew established what the problem was. He suggested that if we couldn't take off again that we would potentially have the option of a hotel bed for the night. Fifteen minutes later he was back on to say that this flight was now cancelled as the repair work required for going to take some time.

From this point on it was pretty much chaos. We were off-loaded and left to the HKG ground crew. We were processed through arrivals but it was still unclear what was happening. I had to constantly pursue the HKG staff to find out what was going to happen but they were mostly dismissive. We then found ourselves in HKG's check-in area which was completely dead because it was about 1am. Seems HKG doesn't operate 24hrs. It then came to light that we were going to be checked onto other airlines. I can't remember the expression they use for that... when other airlines have spare seats saved specifically for occassions like these. It was either Air New Zealand or Qantas. It was also the case that both flights weren't leaving for another 7 hours. No hotel. So it was make yourself confortable on the cold metal benches and wait. It was awful. I was struggling to remain conscious and I just didn't feel safe. Somehow I managed to pass the time. Then came the ramble that was checking in. Very disorganised again by the HKG ground staff. I had expected to get a PE seat but found myself having to accept an economy seat on Quantas. I just wanted to get home by this point. I am 6ft 1' tall and economy is just shear hell for a night flight. Quantas' aircraft seemed really old and run-down. It got me home though. I don't think I would choose to fly Quantas again... even in their higher classes.

Anyway, that was that. I had been conscious approx. 48 hrs, as I'm a terrible sleeper at the best of times anyway. Felt just awful. It was like going through some kind of serious trauma. I didn't think it was right that after paying for PE, I was not flown home PE regardless of the circumstances. So I wrote to Virgin. After some time i was awarded 10,000 miles and a 50% refund on the HKG-LHR leg. Better than nothing I suppose.

So that's my story. Hasn't put me off Virgin at all. I am beginning to think I am a flight jynx though. Last flight it was a 744 wake event that felt like a bomb had gone off sending the plane into a dive. Another time it was burning air con in the hold that led up to an emergency landing. Fingers crossed there will be no crazy events on my next Virgin trip.

OMG what a journey! Glad you had you finally got home safely! [y] However I wouldn't of been happy sitting in an airport for 7 hours! Did no one get hotels? If I were in UC and they told me that, I wouldn't of been a happy bunny!!! [V]

Remind me not to travel on any of your flights! [:?]

DMB

I think the UC pax did get special treatment, however I don't know what happened to them. Whether they simply got Business on Air New Zealand or Quantas, or if they got put up in a hotel until the next VS201, I don't know. There was an announcement on the stricken aircraft specifically for the UC pax, but it just said they were Virgin's top priority. I had thought I had seen some UC pax simply treated like the rest of us. I'm sure it was them who were a few rows behind me in Quantas Economy.

I forgot to mention my last Virgin flight to Vegas. We hit an air pocket, which caused the plane to drop like a rollercoaster for about 20 seconds. Thought my number was up then too. lol.

Andrew

Welcome to V-F.

Sounds like an...adventure.

Even if there were multiple reports from the same flight (have there been many on V-F?) I don't think it would matter as it's the individual's take on events that tells the story..

Paul

What a flight! I cannot even begin to imagine how u must have felt on the flight, Nightmare!
It is not acceptable that you were not offered a hotel or a PE seat on another flight. [V]
Hope ur next flt is better

cheers

How exciting! I love it when things go wrong. Kind of.

I hope your SFO goes more to plan next month and I'm glad you got a response back from Customer Relations. I've been to HKG three times now; I think it's one of the best airports we serve but still not that awesome for seven hours.

Taxiing is, indeed, a word.

And you are throwing sparks like that engine -- what a cutie LOL

GJ

Originally posted by mcnaugha
I forgot to mention my last Virgin flight to Vegas. We hit an air pocket, which caused the plane to drop like a rollercoaster for about 20 seconds. Thought my number was up then too. lol.

I'm afraid there's no such thing as an 'air pocket' - it's an urban myth.

There's a nice article on the Canadian North website taken from their inflight magazine about turblence phenomena - scroll down to 'The Air Up There'.

The best way to think of turbulence is driving your car down a cobbled street. In turbulence, the airflow over the wings isn't smooth and even, it's bumpy - just like the cobbled street under your wheels.

Remember that your middle ear is very sensitive to changes in speed and direction, and on a plane, without a clear view of the horizon or a view outside, it's easily confused - events can seem amplified. For example, my middle ear is very sensitive and I can feel even slight shifts in the aircraft's attitude during the flight.

I loved having the forward camera view on Gulf Air's A330, and I wish that a small selection of faux-instruments would be piped through to the IFE to go with that sort of thing, but that's because I'm a self-confessed aviation nut.

Remember that aircraft are built exceedingly high standards, and tested by an uncompromising bunch of people - the test pilots. Discovery Channel occasionally show a documentary about the building of the Boeing 777. If ever you doubted the aircraft you're flying in, this programme might help allay some of those fears.

Thanks for the report - the main thing was that your crew reacted professionally and put safety first, despite knowing the inconvenience it was bound to cause. I don't think anyone has come forward and said what happened to your flight, but I'd guess that the engine ingested a sufficiently large piece of debris during the takeoff roll and incinerated it - hence the shower of sparks.

I'm not surprised one of the flight crew came back to visually check the engine after the report - they probably didn't have a fire indication in the flight deck (after all, the engine wasn't on fire), and the immediate thing you'll want to do is confirm that your instrumentation is telling you the right thing. I think the HKG flights carry a three-person flight crew, a Captain and two First Officers, to allow for rest periods on the long trip. It was probably the relief/supernumery First Officer that came back into the cabin to eyeball the engine.

Prudence requires that the engine is specially inspected after something like that happens, and that is why your flight was cancelled.

A real shame you ended up on QF rather than NZ - and VS were fortunate that there were unsold seats on these flights, so they could get their customers home. I'd be willing to wager you would have hardly noticed the difference on the NZ flight - in fact, I'd say NZ Y is superior to VS Y, especially on the 744 fleet.

It does sound like you recieved a reasonable compensation for the involuntary loss of PE service, the 50% cash refund seems about right.

I hope you have a better flight next time, and whenever you feel the plane bouncing around, just think of the car wheels on a cobbled street.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Mike... are you a pilot?

I do beg to differ a little I'm afraid... although Wikipedia has been occassionally found to be inaccurate... here's what they have to say on the term air pocket to which I referred:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Pocket

I'm pretty sure it's quite real and kind of scary as it feels like the plane just completely lost all lift. It drops suddenly in a way which is seriously more violent than your average turbulance. Your Canadian author has misunderstood the term, interpretted it literally without doing his research. It's proper name is updraft or downdraft. The Virgin pilot himself called it an air pocket.

Wikipedia has some great info on the various types of turbulance. I recently researched them after experiencing the 744 'wake event' onboard an A319. I didn't believe that pilot either when he said it was nothing to worry about. [:D]

Originally posted by mcnaugha
Thanks Mike... are you a pilot?

I do beg to differ a little I'm afraid... although Wikipedia has been occassionally found to be inaccurate... here's what they have to say on the term air pocket to which I referred:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Pocket

Are these somehow related to the air dynamics manifestation in question?

To the topic at hand, I don't care what you call them, a sudden dip in altitude or strange maneouvres during climb out always have me a bit on edge -- not to mention a first officer dashing down the aisle (as opposed to a dashing first officer, which is far more palatable LOL).

GJ