airplane "near-death" experiences?

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 9:18 pm

bloke wrote:It appears to me as though Sempati Airlines was hedging their bets.

As do many people in this life..

Joe Baker · Post by **Joe Baker** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:10 am

schlepporello wrote:You should have brskly brushed your hands, shrugged your shoulders, and said,"They should have brought more soldiers."

A friend told me I should have told them (in English, with large gestures):

It keeps my hair dryer from going
<img src="http://members.iinet.net.au/~forrie/BOOM%20WORD.jpg" width="300">
____________________________________
Joe Baker, whose former boss was detained and interrogated for over 12 hours by Mossad when entering Israel once, because of "suspicious" computer parts he was carrying (but that doesn't count, because he was traveling on a bus).

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:44 pm

We flew from Anchorage, Alaska to Magadan, Siberia.
As we flew over the coast the ground looked just like Alaska-except no roads.
Pulling up to the hangar area many Russian troops were in sight. No guns that we could see but surely weapons had to be close to hand. A 30 minute van ride into town took us by many of the gulag prisons-watchtowers and all.
Nine days later we were again at the Magadan airport to depart for Anchorage. The police grabbed this Chinese man and pulled him into a room and 30 minutes later brought him out looking much the worse for wear. Looked like they worked him over pretty good.
They gave us each a pass and told us to present it before we got on our plane. The soldiers loaded us on cattle car trucks and drove us out to our Alaska Airlines plane. A soldier checked and counted our passes and found a problem with the count. An officer ordered him to recheck and recount-still there was a problem. The officer ordered us all back onto the cattle cars and returned us to the terminal for another count of our passes.
We could see our plane waiting for us-so near but so far away.
A middle aged lady got irritated with the delay and started mouthing off at the soldiers. An older gentleman with a soothing voice reminded her that this was their country and they could hold us up or far worse as they pleased. She clammed up and the officer decided to amend the count and again to the trucks out to our plane.
Once aboard the plane we were in America again with cool ice water, Budweiser beer and flight attendant ladies who smelled wonderful because unlike Siberian women they had and used perfume and deoderants.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:08 am

tubatooter1940 wrote: ...and flight attendant ladies who smelled wonderful because unlike Siberian women they had and used perfume and deoderants.

Teaching in Indonesia was both a joy and the pain. Indonesian women used perfume and deodorant. The men thought the idea of deodorant was not such a manly thing (or else they would soak in a tub full of Brut). When you're in close quarters, you hold your breath a lot.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:27 pm

Fat chance of that happening here in Southern California, except during the winter in the mountains.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:32 pm

The worst accidents in this neck of the woods have been commuter trains being sabotaged by people who put their car in the track. It's not so bad if the locomotive hits the car first. The car driver is killed and the locomotive falls off the track. But the trains usually move backwards with the locomotive in the rear. There was one accident in Glendale some time back that was especially horrendous.

tubatooter1940 · Post by **tubatooter1940** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:02 pm

It's not just body odor that is a problem. They have this red stuff they mix with their vodka. The odor is easily recognizable. Add that to a long week of physical labor sans soap.
Being closed up in a small plane with so many smelling like that can constitute lots-o-stress for most Americans.

LoyalTubist · Post by **LoyalTubist** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:15 am

I have ridden as a passenger in almost every coach class (and below) means of aviation (including military transport and commercial cargo planes, as well as helicopters). And during my time in the service, being stationed in West Berlin, I saw an awful lot of the area behind the Iron Curtain: East Germany, Poland, the Soviet Union (never went to Russia--I was in Ukraine and Belarus), and Czechoslovakia. I know the odors you're referring to. Add the rancid machine oil smell everywhere. I understand most of that has changed. Close to "home" at that time, I spent a lot of time in Alexanderplatz when I went to East Berlin on pass. I never saw such a crowded place that was so deathly quiet! It was creepier than walking through a cemetery at 12:30 am!

Actually, the biggest tragedy, not near-death experience, happened during my trip to Vietnam last December. I took the Southeast Asian version of Southwest Airlines, called Tiger Airways. Tiger Airways will take you almost anywhere in Asia for under U.S. $100.00 round trip from Singapore. You book the flights online. Your e-mail letter confirming your flight is your ticket. All food and drink on the flight is sold at relatively high prices. The tragedy was that I didn't read all the fine print. Passengers are limited to 15 kilograms in two bags (a little less than 35 pounds). Well, flying to Saigon, I had more than double that, as the normal weight limit is 80 pounds, and I was under that. Tiger charged U.S. $5.00 per kilogram over the maximum. I paid more for my luggage than for my own passage!

I mention Tiger Airways because, if you don't need to take much, it's a good airline. If you are a pack rat like me, forget it! Next time I fly to Vietnam, I won't look for any cheap shortcuts!