3:10 to Yuma makes Emergency Landing

The last leg of the trip back from Australia to Yuma, Arizona, U.S.A. was from Phoenix to Yuma. The departure time of the flight was 3:10, making the flight the 3:10 to Yuma, a reference to the movie of that name.

My flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix was  a few minutes behind schedule. The flight to Yuma had been changed to the A Concourse, but I knew the drill. Hot foot it from the B Concourse at the Phoenix Airport to the A Concourse. It was several minutes at a fast walk. I made it before the 3:10 started boarding, but not by much.

My seatmate was a bright and pleasant retired grandmother who made lovely conversation. Interesting seatmates are a wonderful thing, even on short flights.

I looked out the window as we approached Yuma, and noted we were on a mildly divergent flight path from what I was used to. Then came the announcement: our forward landing gear had blown a tire on takeoff. The crew was working through the possibilities.

We flew about a bit, once relatively low and slow over the airfield. The word came back: it wasn't the front gear that had blown the tire, but one of the main, rear landing gears.

Not good.

We burned a bit more fuel as the flight crew prepared us, the pilot considered contingencies, and the emergency ground responders got into place.

My seatmate texted her husband. Pray, she wrote.

I was doing my bit with him. I asked God to grant the pilot skill. It was in their hands.

We took up the braced positions a minute or two before landing, on the pilots instruction: Brace, Brace, Brace.

They are not the most comfortable position to hold, even for a couple of minutes. The passengers and crew were the epitome of grace under pressure.

No one panicked, no screams, just doing what could be done.

The landing was a good one. Everyone walked away from it. We landed on the long and broad military runway at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS).  After the plane was inspected, and corporate level decision makers approved,  the pilot was able to taxi to the Yuma terminal.   MCAS shares some facilities with the Yuma International Airport.

It was a lovely 98 degrees Fahrenheit in Yuma, a mild summer day. Even dressed for Australian winter, it was reasonably comfortable in the shade. I did not have to wait outside the Airport for long before my friend showed up in my vehicle, as we had planned the pickup before I left for Australia.

Adventures are when the plan fails. This was a mild and short adventure, an interesting anecdote to tell friends and grandchildren.  It could have been much worse.

The timing of the departure 3:10, made it a bit more memorable.


©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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