Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com would like to place cookies on your computer to help us make this website better. To find out more about the cookies, see our privacy notice.
To accept the cookie click here, or please login or register.

Author Topic: The plane was too heavy!!!!  (Read 7782 times)

Offline itstime

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,276
  • My Thankyou Count: 46
    • Share Post
The plane was too heavy!!!!
« on: September 30, 2012, 12:44:24 PM »
Eventually got home in the early hours of this morning following what was the "strangest" flight I've ever been on.
Boarded our Easyjet flight and ready for an on time departure, or so we thought. Captain came on and announced that as there were 90mph headwinds, the plane was too heavy and would not take off until 9 people volunteered to leave the aircraft. There was no stampede of people offering to give up their seat although 3 people did volunteer. Captain back on to announce that if another 6 volunteers didn't come forward then they would "off load" the last 6 people who had checked in. The passengers unable to fly would be put on the next available Edinburgh flight (if there were spaces) on Tuesday and all accommodation costs, food and drink until then would be paid plus compensation of 400 euros per person. No-one else volunteered so eventualy he read out the names of the last 6 to check in who were escorted off the plane. We then had to wait until their hold luggage was located and taken off and all the remaining passengers had to have their hand baggage removed from storage and be visibly inspected and confirmed as belonging to someone still on board. We eventually took off with all the discussion amongst us as to how they knew we were overweight. Obviously hold luggage is weighed but hand luggage isn't and we certainly weren't put on scales to be weighed :o and then how did they know that we had indeed dropped to an acceptable weight?
Maybe someone cleverer than me can enlighten?

Oh and to further complicate matters, around 10 minutes into the flight the announcement " is there a doctor on board?" was made :o Some poor person had taken unwell. Luckily there was a doctor and the person was seen and decision made that the flight could continue with no need to return to Dalaman.

Eventually landed in Edinburgh where instead of the usual covered walkway we had to disembark on to the tarmac into a howling wind and rain then put on a bus to the terminal :(



Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=10228.0

Offline Blue Lizard

  • Kalkander!
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,092
  • My Thankyou Count: 185
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2012, 05:16:56 PM »
Strange as you say??? 9 passengers?..how do they know how much 9 would weigh?.. would 5 fat ones have been enough? >:D :laugh:
People Of Britain.. When your missus asks "Does my bum look big in this? Never say "Dunno your blocking the light."... just sayin ????

 ta ta for now
Lizard

Offline itstime

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,276
  • My Thankyou Count: 46
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2012, 10:21:52 PM »
Strange as you say??? 9 passengers?..how do they know how much 9 would weigh?.. would 5 fat ones have been enough? >:D :laugh:

LOL BL everyone looking around for obviously "larger" people and probably thinking exactly what you said. Still can't work out how thay arrived at the 9 people decision though ???

Offline misty

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,456
  • My Thankyou Count: 102
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2012, 10:30:28 PM »
What about if hubby was 7th to last passenger to check in and wifey 6th what a dilemma..... :) :) :) :)

Offline samson

  • EnjoyKalkan Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 342
  • My Thankyou Count: 26
    • Share Post
  • Owner: Yes
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2012, 07:14:08 AM »
what would have happened if thet had used up the 90 days they were allowed to stay :-\

Offline Chris_S

  • Suggest saying Thanks
  • EnjoyKalkan Fan
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • My Thankyou Count: 129
  • Personal Text
    • Share Post
  • Owner: No
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2012, 10:23:20 AM »
The 9 passengers is based upon the mean (or average) weight per passenger.

The captain would know that a fully loaded cabin would weigh a certain amount based upon this average, he would add this to the checked luggage which was weighed.  Add to this a statistical figure for the number of passengers and their average hand luggage and you get a figure for the total.

As the captain knew he would have a 90 knot headwind, he can calculate the additional fuel that would be required to fly the distance against the wind.  This weight, together with the passengers and luggage would appear to have exceeded the maximum gross weight at which the aircraft can be expected to get airborne with the runway length, altitude and temperature.

Some aircraft have strain gauges on the aircraft undercarriage for determining the centre of gravity of the aircraft.  This is used primarily when loading and distributing the hold luggage, to keep the aircraft within the CofG limits (for balance).  Adding these (3) strain gauge figures can give you the total weight of the aircraft, but not all aircraft have this facility.

Had he not had the headwind, he would not have to take on the extra fuel and his aircraft would probably have been within safe limits, but not necessarily.

Note that Easyjet have a pretty high density seating arrangement in order to maximise the return on the flights.  This leaves less margin for these types of situations when fuel requirements and distance are considered.

The 9 people therefore are just a nominal number to achieve the desired Take Off weight.  Not an exact science, but the captain would err on the side of being lighter, rather than heavier, for safety.

Finally, if 9 people meant splitting up a party, there would be some haggling and negotiaition to avoid this - with most airlines anyway.  Can't say with EasyJet, who seem to have their own set of rules and flexibilty.  I shudder to think what would have happened had it been Ryanair!
Please use "Click to Say Thanks' if you enjoy this Post.  ::)

Offline itstime

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,276
  • My Thankyou Count: 46
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2012, 10:53:59 AM »
Hey Chris S take a bow as you've cleared this up for me  :)
Knew there would be someone able to solve the mystery!

Thank you :)

Offline kalkan4eva

  • Kalkander!
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,156
  • My Thankyou Count: 267
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2012, 01:44:59 PM »
OMG, itstime, what a carry-on  :)
To be honest, I'd have been first off the plane...otherwise I'd have spent the entire flight bricking myself in case there was something more serious afoot.
BL I laughed out loud at your "would 5 fat ones be enough..?" ;D ;D

I'm amazed there was a doctor on board too....all in all quite an eventful flight with one thing or another, glad you are home safe and sound :)
Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt :)

Offline Firecat

  • EnjoyKalkan Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 181
  • My Thankyou Count: 27
    • Share Post
  • Owner: No
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2012, 08:57:04 PM »
I'd be absolutely aghast if that happened to me! An extra couple of days holiday it's not really is it? What about work, family, pets? I can't imagine there are too many people who can just bolt an extra 48 hours onto their holiday without any ramifications.  Under the circumstances I appreciate that the captain had no option and his version of eeny meeny miny mo was probably the most fair way after giving people the chance to volunteer, but I'll certainly be making sure I check in promptly when I fly budget airlines in future!!   :o
Cat on a hot tin roof

Offline itstime

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,276
  • My Thankyou Count: 46
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #9 on: October 02, 2012, 07:24:32 AM »
Indeed Firecat, in future I'll also do my best to ensure we check in at earliest possible opportunity. Not a problem outbound as you are in control of timing but on the return journey you're relying on the transfer company to get you there early.

LOL K4E let's just say it wasn't the most relaxing of flights ::)

Offline Denners

  • EnjoyKalkan Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 277
  • My Thankyou Count: 2
    • Share Post
  • Owner: Yes
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2012, 02:14:21 PM »
I've decided to loose weight just in case they decide to dump off the fat ones first !

Offline Lizilu20

  • EnjoyKalkan Lover
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,725
  • My Thankyou Count: 307
    • Share Post
  • Owner: No
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #11 on: October 02, 2012, 05:01:24 PM »
What a strange experience you had itstime. We were once on an easy jet flight from Geneva when we were told by the cabin crew that some of the passengers had to be rearranged so that the aircraft could balance. We were fortunate that we stayed in our original seats but the cabin crew eyed everyone up and made quite a few people move from the front to the back and thinned the middle out a bit!! They then defrosted the plane as it had iced up. My OH used to have a fear of flying but strangely enough has cured himself by (luckily for us) lots of foreign travel and by avidly watching 'aircraft investigations', so he was getting a bit twitchy!! I've tried to ban him from watching it, but he has an almost morbid fascination about watching the bloomin' thing!! I think he'd have been the first off the plane. Our youngest daughter is also a very nervous passenger, bless her she's even missing out on a school trip to Italy because she would be flying without us. She said that she will never ever board a plane without me. I pity her husband on their honeymoon if the mother in law has to be there too!! Hopefully she will gain more confidence as she gets older!  ;D

Offline Blue Lizard

  • Kalkander!
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,092
  • My Thankyou Count: 185
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #12 on: October 02, 2012, 05:11:09 PM »
It's obvious that if all the porkie people sat at the back the plane would pull a wheelie..there would also be riots because the food always runs out 3/4 of the way down the plane ::)

Offline kalkan4eva

  • Kalkander!
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,156
  • My Thankyou Count: 267
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #13 on: October 02, 2012, 06:10:41 PM »
actually the food "runs out" before the plane even arrives at Dalaman to take us home......how many times have you heard that announcement "it was a very busy flight over so we no longer have any..." I've even heard that as we've been flying from Manchester..jeeezz. Luckily I have a meal deal from Boots and lots of gin to make the tonic taste nice to keep me sustained for four hours going out ;D ;D Coming back...nadda!
Lizilu's experience means I am right to glare at people who get up and go to the toilet as soon as the seat belt light goes off...there's always this mad rush ::) I always thought they were unbalancing the plane and now I know :)
I also watch those programmes about plane crashes too...that one recently about the Air France flight has given me palpitations about our own flight over the Atlantic next month...yikes :-\

Offline Chris_S

  • Suggest saying Thanks
  • EnjoyKalkan Fan
  • ***
  • Posts: 563
  • My Thankyou Count: 129
  • Personal Text
    • Share Post
  • Owner: No
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #14 on: October 03, 2012, 10:02:27 AM »
Goig back a bit (to the 30s....), Imperial Airways (forerunner of BA) used to fly Short Flying Boats to Australia (in stages!).

The Steward run bar (they didn't serve you in your seats - there was a bar you sat around just like on the ground) has a bell push underneath.

When the bar opened after take-off, the steward would press the bell, which would sound an alarm in the cockpit.

This was to forewarn the pilot(s) that the rush rearwards to the bar would cause the aircraft to be tail heavy and make it climb.  The pilot, suitably warned, was then ready to compensate and hold the nose down and re-trim the aircraft.

Probably why they did away with such things and now come round with the drinks!

Offline maryjane

  • EnjoyKalkan Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 381
  • My Thankyou Count: 11
    • Share Post
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #15 on: October 03, 2012, 10:22:53 AM »
Chris_S, good posts!!!!!   Being ex-cabin crew myself, and two brothers retired BA Captains,  I can see both sides of the story, but at the end of the day, the Captain's decision is final, however much it might inconvenience people.  Better to arrive late than never at all!

Kalkan4eva, do not worry about your transatlantic flight, approx 1000 flights cross the "pond" daily, including airline, corporate, private, military etc.  The vast majority are airlines.  Whilst it is desperately sad when a flight is lost (still no clear cut outcome), one is more likely to get killed in a road traffic accident!!!  So enjoy your flight and do not worry :) :) :) :)

Offline Potter

  • EnjoyKalkan Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 223
  • My Thankyou Count: 2
    • Share Post
  • Owner: No
  • Resident: No
Re: The plane was too heavy!!!!
« Reply #16 on: October 06, 2012, 01:15:08 PM »
Chris_S, cracking posts my friend. I fly a lot with work and never even give this a thought. There are many times when being on an aircraft that isn't full, we have been told that people can move seats but not until after take off due to 'sensitive trim' but that's as far as it goes with me.
 ;)
I'll get me coat!! ;-).....Bang on!


Share via delicious Share via digg Share via facebook Share via linkedin Share via pinterest Share via reddit Share via stumble Share via tumblr Share via twitter

xx
Metal/Industrial/Heavy duty shelving

Started by pirha on Classifieds - Wanted

0 Replies
1272 Views
Last post December 15, 2011, 02:21:54 PM
by pirha
xx
careful what you take on a plane!!

Started by Blue Lizard on Flights and Travel

10 Replies
2813 Views
Last post April 07, 2010, 01:10:55 PM
by weirdwidder
 


Sponsored Links

* Search Kalkan Forum


* Your Account Information

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Sponsored Links

Official Turkish E-Visa Application

Official Turkish E-Visa

* Connect to Kalkan on Facebook & Twitter

Kalkan Weather

booked.net

* Random photos from our Kalkan Photo Gallery

Bex & Tom in Sofra

Views: 71
By: antler
June 2011 Holiday

Views: 2827
By: hodstar
view of kalkan

Views: 3934
By: kipple
A Race

Views: 4511
By: Johnjen
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal