Plane Delayed After It Sinks Into Tarmac
The passengers on a U.S. Airways flight at Reagan National Airport suffered the annoyance of a delayed flight after their plane sunk into a soft spot on the tarmac on Friday, during the intense heat wave.
The Huffington Post reports that the plane, bound for Charleston, S.C., was delayed following the plane’s unusual predicament. Michelle Mohr, a spokesperson for U.S. Airways, stated that the regional jet, which seats 50, got stuck after the jet’s wheels sunk into the tarmac and an electric tug cart was unable to push it from the gate.
While Mohr noted that they attempted to reduce the plane’s weight by unloading the luggage, as well as 35 passengers and 3 crew members, but even with less weight the plane could not be freed from the hot tarmac. Finally, they were able to move it by bringing in a tug cart normally used for a much larger plane.
The flight was delayed for about three hours while crews worked to free the plane. Meanwhile, a photo was posted on the social news site Reddit by Phillip Dugaw, and a 24-year-old consultant who works for IBM who was scheduled to be aboard the plane, went viral, showing the plane’s wheels about four inches into the tarmac.
The Washington Post reports that the jet airliner getting stuck in the airport tarmac was not the only incident in D.C. that has been linked to a string of days where temperatures went above 95 degrees, as a “heat kink” has been blamed for three cars derailing on the Metro’s Green Line.
