Straight down from 10000 feet

There was an article in the news today about a plane that had to turn around and do an emergency landing because one of the emergency doors was not closed fully. (See - http://video.foxnews.com/v/4689813355001/nightmare-at-10000-feet-passengers-spot-unsealed-door/?intcmp=hpvid1). This brought back memories of an experience I had.

In my early years working at Air Products I managed a number of IT projects related to their chemicals business (the name back then was Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.). One such project required that I make a number of trips to their plant in Calvert City, KY. Unlike their other major chemical facility outside of Pensacola, FL, where I flew on large commercial jets, Calvert City was a much smaller place in western Kentucky. The flights from Allentown were generally on smaller planes flown by carriers such as US Air (at the time called Allegheny). But even these smaller planes did not serve Calvert City.

The small regional airline which serviced western Kentucky at the time was named, appropriately, Air Kentucky. They were based in Owensboro, KY. At the time of this project, I believe it was 1980, Air Kentucky had just two planes, both Beechcraft 99’s. Their route was a rough triangle, from Louisville, KY to Nashville, TN, to Paducah, KY with a stop in Owensboro, KY midway between Paducah and Louisville. One plane flew clockwise around this route and the other flew counter-clockwise. I usually flew Allegheny to Nashville then Air Kentucky to Paducah and drove about 30 miles from there to Calvert City.

Air Kentucky had begun flying in 1974 and by 1980 was in an expansion mode and wanted to add routes to other destinations in the area. But to do so, they needed another plane. Since their pilots and mechanics were only familiar with Beechcraft 99’s, they wanted another one of them. The prior year, 1979, Idi Amin, the dictator of Uganda, had been deposed and had fled the country. In order to raise money, the new government of Uganda decided to sell off the aircraft that he had been using. Air Kentucky purchased a used Beechcraft 99 from the government of Uganda, had a pilot fly commercially there, and then bring it to the US through a series of hops across Africa, then South America, and up to Kentucky. They had it certified as airworthy by the FAA, then immediately placed it into service.

A little information about the Beechcraft 99. This plane seats two pilots and fifteen passengers and has a small luggage space in the tail as well as some in the elongated nose. There is only a curtain separating the cockpit from the cabin (in-flight service consisted of the co-pilot taking a wicker basket of candy/crackers from beneath his seat and passing them to the passenger behind him, that passenger passed it down the aisle on one side and back up on the other side back to the co-pilot). It’s an unpressurized plane, so generally flies at about 10,000 feet or so (it’s rated over twice as high, but there is insufficient oxygen at higher altitudes). There is a single exit door on the left side in the back of the cabin, just in front of the rear luggage storage and opposite the last passenger on the right side (in seat #15).

The day after Air Kentucky received their “new” Beechcraft 99, happened to be a day that I was making a trip to Calvert City. I flew in the early morning hours to Nashville and made my way to the Air Kentucky gate. I saw their new plane land and taxi up just outside the window (no jet way, you just walked out to the plane). I immediately noticed the strange color of the plane. Instead of the usual Air Kentucky white with a blue/green stripe down the side, this one had not yet been repainted and still had the colors of Idi Amin – ones that I can only describe as “pea soup green” and fuchsia – UGLY!

As the plane sat outside the window on the tarmac, it quickly became evident that they were having some problems with it, i.e. they could not get the door open to let the passengers off. It seems that the cogs that secured the door would not retract far enough to open it. After several unsuccessful attempts, they finally came out with a crowbar and were able to separate the door from the frame far enough to allow it to open. After the passengers deplaned they continued working on it and closed it and opened it again to ensure that they had taken care of the problem. A few minutes later (they have a quick turnaround), I and my fellow passengers boarded. I had seat #15 that trip, i.e. the one directly opposite the door.

They closed the door and began taxiing out to take off. As they did so, I glanced over at the door next to me (the plane is narrow enough that I could touch the far side of the plane), and noticed that in the process of prying open the door they had slightly sprung it from the frame. So, while the cogs on the sides were engaged, there was a gap at the bottom of the door over an inch wide. By leaning over and looking down, I could see the tarmac below the plane as we gathered speed for takeoff. Needless to say, I was not very comfortable. I cinched my seatbelt up extra tight for the short flight from Nashville to Paducah (about 120 miles).

Since they don’t fly very high and this was a short flight (about a half-hour), the fact that there was a crack along the bottom of the door did not affect the comfort in the plane (after all, it’s not pressurized anyway). But there was a slightly higher level of noise from the air buffeting over the crack (they only fly at about 200 knots (230 mph)). But I do confess to being a bit uncomfortable being able to lean over and look straight down about 10,000 feet when I wasn’t wearing a parachute and was only held in by the normal airplane seatbelt!

A lot has changed in the airline industry in the 35 years since this incidence – mergers, TSA security, bags with wheels on them, etc. But I still have vivid memories of that flight. I suspect that if it happened again that they would not be allowed to take off at all.