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American Airlines 777 Diverted to Tulsa due to engine failure
American Airlines flight 79 diverted to Tulsa International Airport after losing their left engine en-route from London to Dallas. (www.newson6.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
It actually happened over FSM or close by, which is only about 100 miles from TUL. At FL, the descent would have been rather quick. The 777 is designed to fly on one engine and pilots train for it regularly, so there shouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary. That airport has been Tulsa International for years. I guess it's because you can hit just about any hub out of there and connect. I can't remember in years past if there were any true International flights or not. It never gave the nature of the engine problem, and you said the Pilot said he had a choice. I really can't understand why he didn't go on to DFW. He was less than 1 hr under normal conditions and the waves would have parted like the red sea with him having engine out. Many other diversion airports enroute.
My perception of what felt wrong vs what is actually wrong could be quite different. The problem could have been a warning or an actual failure of some sort in the engine. Any way, I will definitely defer to the pilot's experience & judgement on this issue. But, it must have been serious enough for the pilot to not continue so close to the destination. Ultimately, its the pilot's call.
I'll back up the crew decision also. Because they lived to fly another day so did you and the others. If the problem even hinted at fuel contamination or other fuel issue, you need nearest available because both engines could be affected.
That's kinda me too. You said that pilot said he had a choice. I would defer to him with no other details given
Roger all of the above.
I'm sure there are some flights into Mexico from there. Just like all the northern airports call themselves "international" because they may have a commuter flight or two going into Canada.
Still a touch confused. If pilot felt he had a choice, and if Tulsa is NOT a big 777 mx hub, and if AA wanted min px disruption and max service (as if!) - DFW would have seemed an easy call. But I wasn't on the plane, I'm not in charge AA decisions, and they did what they did. Thanks for the px view, T.k.!
Once on the ground, they announced that we could not deplane as there is customs office at the Tulsa airport. I found it amusing during the announcement as the name on the terminal read "Tulsa International Airport". I guess the airports/cities have this self importance to make themselves look/sound bigger than reality!
The pilot later came through the plane to provide further updates. I thought this provided a little more of the personal touch and reassurance that we are all (passengers & crew) stuck on the plane. Even the crew cannot deplane without customs. Another 777 was going to flown from DFW to Tulsa. They had the pilots but also had to get the full crew before taking off.
Once it was in the air, they deplaned all the passengers and crew into a terminal. No bathrooms, no food in the airport which they politely announced beforehand. They had the local TSA block off the exits and confined all the passengers into a small area around the gate.
Once the new plane arrived, we quickly boarded and flew to DFW. one good thing about arriving 5 hours late was that were no lines at the immigration or customs.
For me, this was my final destination. For those continuing on were to stay overnight at a hotel to make their connections the next day.
Kudos to the pilot. He said during one of his updates that they had a choice to continue to DFW and he made the call to land in Tulsa. Better to arrive late than never...
I find myself amazed at the reactions of some of the people. During the initial announcement to make the emergency landing, you could notice the passengers getting nervous and look concerned. Once their feet (wheels) hit the ground, the relief was shortly lived and the bitching and moaning began from many about how their plans were so rudely interrupted by uncontrolled circumstances.