Type: Airbus A300-600R
Airline: American Airlines
Date: May 17, 2002
Location: New York (JFK Intl.), New York
Registration: N80057
Because of the fact that the only direct flight between JFK and MCO had left early in the afternoon, I needed to catch a connecting flight at Miami International (MIA). As it turned out, the plane that I was taking from JFK to MIA was an Airbus A300-600...the same plane that had crashed on Long Island the previous November because the tail came off. Before I continue, I need to note that I despise Airbuses. While most of them (except the A321 and A330) are pretty to look at, I feel that they are nothing more than cheap (by cheap I do not mean inexpensive) imitations of Boeing. Needless to say that I wasn't too thrilled when I bought my tickets in April that I was gonna fly on an Airbus.
Being that this was my first twin-aisle airplane since the DC-10 that I flew on to LAX ten years prior, I decided to take a picture of the interior of the aircraft (like I said earlier, I am an aviation nut). I wasn't seated more than 10 minutes before an AA employee came up to me. "Excuse me, but are you Mr. Fiore?" "Yes ma'am." "Can you come with me for a minute, I need to talk to you." We both exited the plane. "Were you the one who took a picture of the interior of the plane?" "Yes ma'am I was. Aviation and airlines are a hobby of mine." "May I ask you why you did it?" "Because this is my first Airbus and my first twin-aisle aircraft in almost a decade." I couldn't believe what I was about to hear. "Well, you have worried the captain because he thinks that you have acted suspiciously, and he insists that you refrain from taking any more pictures on board the aircraft." Here I was, a 19-year old college student, being compared to a terrorist;I was angry and insulted. "Pass my apologies along to the captain and first officer"…I wanted to add, "and if you can give me the captain's home address, I will send him some medication to help cure his paranoia." "I will…you can go ahead and re-board the aircraft." I knew that my face was red as I was walking back to my seat…but I wasn't red from embarrassment, I was red from anger.
I ignored the lady's request to not take anymore pictures. In fact, I took 12 of them before we even took off! Never before in my life had I seen so many different international airlines as I did at JFK. Being that it took forever for us to get off the runway (the two General Electric CF6's on that plane weren't a good choice for engines), I just stared out the window and snapped to my heart's content. As we climbed off the runway and turned south to parallel the coastline, I managed to accidentally discover a new feature of my camera…it could switch from regular shots to panoramic shots…and I made the mistake of taking a panoramic shot of the entire Manhattan skyline…that ranks as one of the best mistakes I've ever made because the picture is phenomenal.
For three hours and forty-seven minutes (my longest domestic flight to that point in time) as we shot down the Atlantic coast, I anxiously awaited my arrival at MIA…I wanted to get off that plane and here's why: shortly after our takeoff from JFK, we hit some minor turbulence. Most planes' wings are meant to slightly bend and vibrate in instances like that. The Airbus, however, began flapping like a bird! Until that moment, I had never been scared on an airplane before. The wings were flapping so hard that I thought that they were going to rip off the fuselage. Needless to say that that experience did not help my opinion of the Airbus consortium…in fact, I hate them more now than before I flew on them. The sole saving graces of that flight were the facts that I had a great deal of leg room, and, as we neared Myrtle Beach, I watched in awe as I could see a cell firing up near Orlando…I was at 35,000 feet, so I could see that far. For the next 90 minutes, I sat transfixed as the lightning shot out of the top of the anvil into the stratosphere...it was the most magnificent aerial lightning display I have ever seen.
On our final approach to Miami, we flew right over downtown (the Orange Bowl stuck out like a sore thumb) and shot out over the eastern edge of the Everglades (it had a greenish glow to it…probably from the methane) before making a 180° turn and landing at MIA. As I exited the plane, I noticed the captain closely watching me. I gave him a solid glare, said nothing, and exited the aircraft.
Airline: American Airlines
Date: May 17, 2002
Location: New York (JFK Intl.), New York
Registration: N80057
Because of the fact that the only direct flight between JFK and MCO had left early in the afternoon, I needed to catch a connecting flight at Miami International (MIA). As it turned out, the plane that I was taking from JFK to MIA was an Airbus A300-600...the same plane that had crashed on Long Island the previous November because the tail came off. Before I continue, I need to note that I despise Airbuses. While most of them (except the A321 and A330) are pretty to look at, I feel that they are nothing more than cheap (by cheap I do not mean inexpensive) imitations of Boeing. Needless to say that I wasn't too thrilled when I bought my tickets in April that I was gonna fly on an Airbus.
Being that this was my first twin-aisle airplane since the DC-10 that I flew on to LAX ten years prior, I decided to take a picture of the interior of the aircraft (like I said earlier, I am an aviation nut). I wasn't seated more than 10 minutes before an AA employee came up to me. "Excuse me, but are you Mr. Fiore?" "Yes ma'am." "Can you come with me for a minute, I need to talk to you." We both exited the plane. "Were you the one who took a picture of the interior of the plane?" "Yes ma'am I was. Aviation and airlines are a hobby of mine." "May I ask you why you did it?" "Because this is my first Airbus and my first twin-aisle aircraft in almost a decade." I couldn't believe what I was about to hear. "Well, you have worried the captain because he thinks that you have acted suspiciously, and he insists that you refrain from taking any more pictures on board the aircraft." Here I was, a 19-year old college student, being compared to a terrorist;I was angry and insulted. "Pass my apologies along to the captain and first officer"…I wanted to add, "and if you can give me the captain's home address, I will send him some medication to help cure his paranoia." "I will…you can go ahead and re-board the aircraft." I knew that my face was red as I was walking back to my seat…but I wasn't red from embarrassment, I was red from anger.
I ignored the lady's request to not take anymore pictures. In fact, I took 12 of them before we even took off! Never before in my life had I seen so many different international airlines as I did at JFK. Being that it took forever for us to get off the runway (the two General Electric CF6's on that plane weren't a good choice for engines), I just stared out the window and snapped to my heart's content. As we climbed off the runway and turned south to parallel the coastline, I managed to accidentally discover a new feature of my camera…it could switch from regular shots to panoramic shots…and I made the mistake of taking a panoramic shot of the entire Manhattan skyline…that ranks as one of the best mistakes I've ever made because the picture is phenomenal.
For three hours and forty-seven minutes (my longest domestic flight to that point in time) as we shot down the Atlantic coast, I anxiously awaited my arrival at MIA…I wanted to get off that plane and here's why: shortly after our takeoff from JFK, we hit some minor turbulence. Most planes' wings are meant to slightly bend and vibrate in instances like that. The Airbus, however, began flapping like a bird! Until that moment, I had never been scared on an airplane before. The wings were flapping so hard that I thought that they were going to rip off the fuselage. Needless to say that that experience did not help my opinion of the Airbus consortium…in fact, I hate them more now than before I flew on them. The sole saving graces of that flight were the facts that I had a great deal of leg room, and, as we neared Myrtle Beach, I watched in awe as I could see a cell firing up near Orlando…I was at 35,000 feet, so I could see that far. For the next 90 minutes, I sat transfixed as the lightning shot out of the top of the anvil into the stratosphere...it was the most magnificent aerial lightning display I have ever seen.
On our final approach to Miami, we flew right over downtown (the Orange Bowl stuck out like a sore thumb) and shot out over the eastern edge of the Everglades (it had a greenish glow to it…probably from the methane) before making a 180° turn and landing at MIA. As I exited the plane, I noticed the captain closely watching me. I gave him a solid glare, said nothing, and exited the aircraft.
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