Posted on 08/25/2022 3:27:46 PM PDT by Ben Dover
A United Airlines plane is reported to have taxied so long that it ran out of fuel ahead of its flight earlier this week.
United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER was scheduled to fly out of Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday (August 22)), but was short on gas after taxiing for six hours, leading to the flight eventually getting canceled, Aviation A2Z reports.
Several passengers on board shared their experiences on social media as the incident took place, including New York Times reporter Hiroko Tabuchi, who wrote, "You can't make this up. my United flight out of Newark taxied on the tarmac for more than 6 hours and now **no longer has enough fuel** to get to Denver -- so we are taxiing back to the terminal," in an apparent since-deleted tweet re-quoted by the Twitter account @FL360aero.
The plane was initially delayed due to inclement weather, which included lightning and thunderstorms, and taxied for about three hours before going back to the gate for the first time.
Passengers were reportedly told, “if you really need to go to the bathroom or stretch your legs, go ahead, but we really prefer you don’t, and we won’t hesitate to leave you behind," after the plane returned to the gate, according to Aviation A2Z.
The plane then taxied "for the next few hours" before an announcement was made by the captain that air traffic control gave a longer flight path to Denver in order to avoid lingering storms and the plane wouldn't have enough fuel needed to make the extended trip.
Passengers were later notified that the flight had been canceled through the United Airlines app after a lengthy delay, but crew members were reportedly not made aware of the change when they asked passengers to re-board the aircraft and taxi on the tarmac for an additional two hours.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the average delay time for all U.S. flights on Monday was 37 minutes, with 92% caused by weather, 5% due to volume and 3% linked to staffing issues, according to the India Times.
“Plane Runs Out Of Fuel After Taxiing For Six Hours”
Click-bait fake news.
Exactly. Dropped below required reserve.
“ran out of fuel” — stupid writer.
It didn’t have enough fuel plus fuel reserve to go to its schedule destination.
It didn’t “taxi for 6 hours” — it was idling on the tarmac much of that time.
Someone needs to call the Secretary of Transportation. This could be a gender identity problem in disguise..
I’ve flown in to Newark and it’s not that big (LOL) -
That came close to happening to me a few times as the plane landed in Dallas and taxied all the way through oklahoma, and then another time at O’Hare taxiing through Wisconsin and Minnesota
My travel agent said she’s had too many customers with cancelled flights or had to drive all the way to Charlotte or Atlanta to catch their flights.
She said if you are within about a 12 hour drive then go by car.
Secretary Pete doesn’t know what he is doing. We used to take the airplane way back in the 1960’s and this problem didn’t show up until the past two years.
A friend of mine who was a pilot used to quote a saying: “Time to spare? Go by air!”
You still have a travel agent? I thought that job was killed by online booking.
A Disney planner, yes I hate giving them money but my daughter is such a princess and has been wanting to go since she was three. Never been there but maybe it will be interesting. Have to be on the lookout for groomers.
The airlines are treating their passengers as pieces of meat worthy of an abortion. The only way these airlines will learn a little humanity is from a outcry from the rooftops that they have sunk into inhuman behavior and need the law to change their procedures. Time is ticking before the money flows out of their system through class action Camp Lejeune type settlements. Camp Lejeune settlements may range from over $1 million to as little as $25,000. United Airlines is sitting on quick sand.
“Exactly. Dropped below required reserve.”
And re-routed to a longer flight.
That left a he# of a carbon footprint.
Once he completely grinds all civil aviation to a halt, he'll boast about totally preventing the possibility of another 9/11.
I’ve taxied to Oklahoma from DFW, myself, a time or two!
Did it get dark and the solar panels mounted on the wings wouldn’t charge the batteries?
It's a breeze for those of us who are computer-savvy, but we forget that there are millions among us who don't have the slightest idea how to use a computer, or just plain hate using them.
Yes, but I thought the travel agents disappeared because the airlines stopped paying commissions. It appears packagingguy was talking about Disney planners, which our family has used as well.
They should build electric planes. Jet fuel is a nasty fossil fuel.
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