triple7
Well-Known Member
So, I get back from my deadhead home from IAH to EWR and I call crew sched to see whats going on. I still had 3 days of reserve. So, she says we are in swap and i need to do an Albany turn. No prob...she even gives me a hotel in EWR for helping out so i can avoid the crashpad. I show up to the gate. The airplane is delayed an hour already and the pax are freaking out. I show up and tell them I will be taking them to Albany. EVeryone is happy and relieved. So, we board em up, and blast off out of EWR pretty quick. On the taxi in ATC tells us that we had an edct of 45 mins later. Ok, so we are 15 mins delayed. no biggy. We load em up, taxi out, and halfway out we hear the dreaded "ewr had a ground stop...update in an hour" . Into the block we go, and wait. Anhour comes and the GS gets extended another hour. So,back to the gate to see whats going on. Now, my 530 am show that morning starts to play a factor. WE tell dispatch that we are in danger of timing out, and they work a deal to get us out of there with a wheels up just prior to our critical off time. So, we finally get out. Join up on the arrival and the holding starts. We slow to 200 knots and get our holding assignment. EFC is 30 mins....we calculate we can hold for 50 mins before diverting. But....if we divert we are done due to duty time. Now, the volume delays become weather delays as EWR is under some tstorms. We hit our bingo fuel number and get cleared to ABE. We check in with approach and he tells us there is weather on the final to 6. Our radar concurs....some nice reds and yellows. We opt for the tailwind runway. It was only 8 knots or so...not bad. I call our ops and she says they are closed to diversions...that they are full.I, not so eloquently, tell her that its too bad because we are coming in and to make room. Now, we are in a bind. Low on gas, weather all around the airport, and no real other options for us. After a very busy diversion we land at ABE. 6 other aircraft there, to include a CAL 757 and a NW 757. The NW was a charter for the Oakland A's trying to get to LGA to play the mets today. Apparently LGA was in total gridlock, JFK wasnt much better ane EWR was shut down to arrivals. So, as luck would have it there was another crew inbound from CLE who would fly our people to EWR. We stayed in ABE and flew their airplane back to CLE this morning......It was a long day, a short overnight, and more stress than I care to deal with in one day. What a blast.........
