Them on Us: Too much info, Captain

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

By Jake Nichols

Seasoned traveler and writer Margie Goldsmith has been to 118 countries, according to her Huffington Post bio. But she probably hasn’t experienced anything like her recent trip from Dallas to Jackson Hole.

Flight 2599 began like most: delayed. What made it different was soon to be evident. The pilot, it seems, could not tell a lie. At first, the American Airlines captain made the announcement that the plane was being held until technicians could patch a hydraulics leak that had plagued the plane all the way from Vancouver.

“Our hydraulics are leaking and it wouldn’t really be a good idea if we tried to fly that way,” the captain told passengers, rather frankly.

While the ground crew fixed the plane the captain told passengers he would use that time to watch an instructional video on how to land at the Jackson Hole Airport. AA requires mandatory viewing for pilots who do not fly into Jackson frequently. The captain admitted the approach was “kind of tricky” but not to worry he had landed there many times, just not in the past two years or so.

The crew could not fix the leak so Goldsmith and her fellow passengers had to disembark and reload in another plane two hours later. The ever-transparent captain again came on the intercom to explain the delay in preparing the new plane was due to the excessively dirty condition it was in.

“Welcome back,” the captain said. “Sorry about the long wait, but the plane had to be cleaned and I don’t just mean the seats needed to be cleaned. The restrooms were really smelly and the whole plane smelled foul, and we certainly weren’t going to let you onboard with it smelling like that.”

Finally, at 9:30 p.m.—departure was scheduled for 5:10 p.m.—the plane seemed ready for takeoff. Again the loudspeaker crackled to life.
“Well folks, we seem to have a new problem,” the captain said. “The left door just in front of the engines won’t close and because it’s right in front of the engine, we don’t think flying would be a very wise decision. I’m sure you agree, so we’re going to go back to the gate and fix it.”

Ten minutes later the captain admitted that the two people everyone saw outside the plane fixing the door were indeed taping it shut with duct tape. “That’s right folks, duct tape,” he said. Goldsmith got to Jackson Hole safely along with the rest of the passengers.

This we like, too
The February issue of Outside magazine features an exhaustive list of hidden treasures called “This We Like.” The list included praise for smaller, local ski hills that can get overwhelmed by the destination resorts.

“This We Like: Local ski hills like Jackson, Wyoming’s Snow King, where a season pass costs $150, one-tenth as much as the going rate at the town’s better-known resort,” Outside staffers wrote.

Former JH Weekly scribe honks our horn
Brigid Mander has landed regular work with the Wall Street Journal, covering its winter travel features, and she hasn’t forgotten her old stomping grounds.
“[F]lakes may not be falling everywhere, but at least there’s a wealth of new offerings in the ski world,” Mander wrote in the Jan. 14 WSJ. “Whether you like to be cosseted or pushed to the limits, here’s a sampling of what’s hot in some chilly corners of the globe.”

Right in there with alpine skiing in Italy and sailing to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago was mention of a perfect day in JH.

“For adrenaline junkies who don’t turn up their noses at luxury, the Four Seasons Jackson Hole in Wyoming rolls three adventures into its Ultimate Untracked Trio,” Mander wrote. “The five-night trip includes a day of guided backcountry skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, a day of snowcat skiing at nearby Grand Targhee Resort and a day with High Mountain Heli-skiing. The other two days of regular runs at Jackson Hole may feel almost tame in comparison.”

And Wyoming continues its dominance in the sport of snowmobiling. Once again, readers of SnoWest magazine named four Wyoming snowmobiling trails to the publication’s Top 10 list, more than any other state. Continental Divide, Snowy Range, Big Horn and Alpine/Wyoming Range made the grade.

courtesy USA TODAY
American Airlines crash at Jackson Hole Airport, Dec 29, 2010.

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Them on Us: Too much info, Captain | Planet JH News Article: General News

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