https://nypost.com/2023/09/21/my-90-minute-american-airlines-flight-turned-into-9-hour-hell/
My 90-minute American Airlines flight turned into a 9-hour hell — but a miracle happened
By Jane Herz
Published Sep. 21, 2023, 9:27 a.m. ET
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American Airlines flight 5085 was scheduled to depart at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 18. But when Conley looked at his phone and saw that the time was 6:30 p.m. — about a half hour after the plane was originally supposed to land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) — he knew something was awry.
That’s when the pilot told passengers that the plane was diverted to a small airport in Wichita Falls, Texas, due to a severe impending storm, as DFW was not allowing landings or takeoffs.
Rather than disembarking upon landing at 6:45 p.m. at Wichita Falls Regional Airport, Conley and his fellow passengers got stuck on the tarmac for over two hours because airport employees weren’t allowed outside due to the lightning.
But what should have been the flight from hell was really something that turned into a beautiful, human experience, Conley, 38, said.
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The man Conley was sitting next to, Joshua Chandler, even put on a pretend duck tour for the young kids, as he had been on one earlier that day, blowing the yellow duck whistle around his neck.
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What a great inspirational story. We hear all about the “Karens” and “Kens”, drunken idiots, or some “un housebroken” slobs on planes. But we rarely hear of the times that humans all come together under duress and make the best of some unfortunate coincidences.
I’d like to think that I could be like them — charitable, kind, and considerate of my neighbors.
And, BTW, where does one go for a “duck tour” and why. Laugh!
Of course, I’ll never ever fly into, out of, or through DFW. One thunderstorm ride there back in the 70’s was enough for me. (And that’s where IBM lost its PC team when Esteridge’s place went down. All the corporate travel departments created the “only a few employees on any one flight” rule as few weeks later. So sad.)
Great story of humanity’s possibilities.
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