Layover Stories

[AV1ATRX]

I was driving a crew car that caught on fire in ISO a few years ago. I was just driving it and the catalytic (sp?) converter caught on fire as I was pulling back into the parking lot. I ran inside and told the line crew and they ran out with a fire extinguisher, put out the fire, and told me it happens all the time. I should have known something was majorly wrong with the thing when it wouldn't go over 25 mph, but when you've been flying all day and starving it really doesn't matter, as long as it gets you there. I've never seen so much smoke come from a vehicle of any type.

So, I didn't technically crash one, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

 

[User546]

Talking about crew cars remind me of another story.

After landing in Raleigh one afternoon, we got our passengers on our way, and got a rental car to take to the hotel. Both of us are walking out to the rental car, which was a red Ford Taurus. The other guy had the keys to the rental car and was pushing all these buttons on the keychain to figure out where the car was. Finally we find this red Taurus and the trunk is already popped on it.

So I lug both of our suitcases in the back of the trunk and slam it shut. No sooner did I slam the trunk shut, he made the comment "this thing isn't unlocking this damm car!!" I then looked over and there was another red Taurus sitting about three cars away and that kick to the stomach feeling told me exactly what had just happened. I then made the comment that I bet it will unlock that other one over there! Sure enough it did... we had just locked all our luggage into someone else's car, and who knows where they were or how we were going to get it out! We just stood there in astonishment for about half a minute, just staring at the trunk as if it was going to magically open for us. We eventually headed inside and admitting the errors of our ways.

Well fortunately, this Taurus was one of the crew cars, and the mangager came out and unlocked it for us. We came so close to not having any clothes or accessories for our four day layover!

 

[urflyingme?!]

This isn't a layover story, but, being the wanabe I am...

The first time I got to use a crew car was on a cross country at St George Utah. They had the hottest girl working there, EVER. She was like exactly my age, and there isn't exactly an abundance of women in Farmpit, New Mex.

So we chit chat for about 10 minutes and she follows me out to the hangar where the crew car is waiting. There are 3 mx guys, her, the fueler kid, and a corporate capt standing in the hangar, car is running just outside the big doors...

I get in, in my little uniform looking all official(and stupid), and see it's a standard...
I CAN'T DRIVE STANDARD

I floor it, drop the clutch and smoke the tires for about 25 feet, then promtly stall.....

 

[LXApilot]

Crashed a crew car? Yeah, two of them. Freakin hilarious. One on purpose, one on accident. Pulled the e-brake on one of the left seat guys once on our way to the burger joint at SPS- oh man! Long stories- those of you who were there (they prowl this board) know the details. Also stole a car once to use as a crew car... again, long story. Flew on the Citation with a guy who was 30 and furloughed UAL, one of the greatest pilots I ever met. We'll call him Pauly - He and I took the bird out for a demo in Cali and then to the service center in ICT and because we didnt have anyone with us he brings his MILF girlfriend. After we make it to the hotel Cap says meet him downstairs for a drink - which I do- Legends bar for those of you who know the ICT Hilton. Get nice and drunk and then he and this chick start making out at the bar- I pull them down the hall and into the elevator and they start humping right there. Unbelivable - I cant believe this guy. I laugh my ass off and am trying not to look but her boozums are all over the place and they are going at it. Elevator dings to our floor- a few startled mom and dads looking at us with big eyes- "OH $hit!" I say looking at Pauly and not knowing what to do. "close the door!" he says. So I hit the door close button and off we go to the next floor up where we use the stairs and come back to our floor. They are still doing the deed pinned up against the wall and I'm fumbling for a room key somewhere in her purse. Not gonna happen- he throws me his wallet and VIOLA- room key- in they go... or more of like falling in- next day I wake up and airline out of town - find out i've still got his wallet with cards, pilots license, cash, etc! MUHAHAHAHA. There are many more with that comes from... but thats probably the funniest.

 

[DashTrash400]

Okay so in SUN, QX lays over at a condo the company owns. Three of the bedrooms are right next to each other. This one time I was laying over there, the FA had been joking with me in what I thought was a flirtish way. Mind you, she was over 50 years old, as was the rest of the crew (typical Horizon Q400 crew, grr). She had the bedroom next to me.

Anyways I'm in my bedroom reading, fully clothed, when the phone rings, so I step out of my room to go answer it. As I pass her room, she steps out to see what's going on - in nothing but bra & panties. I really didn't want to see that, I act like I saw nothing & keep going downstairs. Fortunately she was gone when I went upstairs. I couldn't shake the feeling that she might've meant for me to see her.

So I'm nearly asleep and suddenly I hear it - the infamous knock on the door. This is one FA I really don't want knocking on my door. I decide feighning sleep is the best policy. Again, a knock, more urgent. I still ignore it. Again, knocking - and a whispered "Sam! Are you there?" Yep, it was her. I prayed for her to go away. "Sam! I need you!" Aaargh no, this isn't happening. "Sam, I have to take Vicki to the hospital!" Whaaat?

Sure nuff, the other FA had gotten sick during the night. I answered my door and helped her out. We brought the other FA to the hospital, where she stayed overnight with a kidney infection. Our LAX turn the next day got cancelled and for the last legs we got a replacement who was really PO'd she had to work that day. You're on reserve, honey, whatta ya expect!?

 

[coolyokeluke]

It's a sea story but in the spirit of layover stories.

Arrived at Bremerhaven (sp) Germany a little past midnight, up for manuevering into port. Gangway not down until past 0100. First engineer is a recovering alchoholic, tells us not to get f--ked up, as he does every port call. We're 20 and can finally drink being overseas, the advice is ignored every port we get ashore it. So we head into town, once the taxi gets us at close to 0200, head to the club, the "Enterprise". Large quantities of tequila later and having heard the German word for no enough times to brand into my innibriated mind we head back, we have to sail in the morning! The ship was many stories tall and it featured an elevator. In the elevator somebody got the idea it was a good idea to "slam dance". About this time the door opens and I get slung out onto the steel deck face first, right at the feet of the chief mate. He says "I'll get the next one". We get about an hour of sleep and head down to work, not very sober and just starting to feel a bad hangover set its hook. Of course the 1st engineer smells us and has his revenge. I end up wiping down the emergency diesel generator while it's running with buckets and rags of diesel, the smell in the small room and a large caterpiller engine...it was the start of an unpleasant day.

What's the difference between a sea story and a fiary tale? A fairy tale begins "Once upon a time..." and a sea story begins "Now this ain't no sh-t..."

 

[qmaster3]

Now this aint no sh-t (very real for me)

We pulled into Cannes, FR on my first cruise (98). Half tanked, and Cannes was boring we decided to catch a flight to Paris. Like idiots we didn't have Chits, or even over night liberty for that matter. We land at De Gaulle, and ask about the Metro we heard about. Well the Hertz France lady convinces us that we need a rental car. So yours truly pops out the Visa card and rents a little whatever it was. It took us probably 2 firkin hrs to arrive at the Hotel 15 miles away. Those circle intersections really screw with ya. Excited we had the night, and the whole day tomorrow to kill, catch a late flight back, be on the ship like nothing happened. Well, we hit the bars, and got some dinner. Come back crash, wake up go outside and the cars gone. My car got stolen, and I didn't have the keys. Till this day I don't know if we left them in the car, door, or hotel room. Filled the police report, had to buy new tickets back to Cannes, and fought with the Hertz France lady at the airport. I remember her saying "you're free to go now? OK like I wasn't going to anyway! However, it took my uncle (lawyer) a LOT of letters to settle it for me. Luckily we made it back to the ship on time. OH YEAH I did get to see the Eiffel tower two years later.

 

[typhoonpilot]

I know a guy who was awakened in the dead of night by the loud crash of a door slamming. When he came to, he was standing naked in the hallway outside his hotel room, having sleep-walked out the door...which slammed shut behind him.

He had no choice but to ride the elevator down to the lobby and, while peeking around the corner of the elevator, get the desk clerk's attention and beg for a towel and a key.

(Hope she didn't need to see some I.D....)

Along those same lines I was on a layover in Chicago a few years back. I can't remember the name of the hotel, but it was a very nice older hotel downtown. The lobby was the old style with lots of wood paneling. Being older it was a smallish lobby with a small check-in desk and a narrow hallway back to the elevator. There were some chairs and a sofa on the side of the lobby. At about 0430 I get downstairs to check-out for the the flight back. I'm there and one of the F.A.s is sitting there. I'm on the sofa sort of facing the check-in desk and Kristin ( we'll call her ) is sitting on a chair facing towards the elevators. The Captain comes down and sits facing away from the elevators, towards Kristin. We are sitting there chit chatting waiting for the other crew members to come down when Kristin says, in a hushed tone, " TP, TP...look !!!. I glance towards the elevators and walking out from the hallway is a fairly good looking blonde with nothing on but a pair of socks. Mouth agape and in a state of disbelief I get the Captains's attention and get him to look. There was a chill in the air that morning, even in the lobby, and the young ladies headlights were on. Shortly thereafter, a big female security guard comes down the hallway and puts her coat over this young lady. She is now at the check-in counter and we make out that she has locked herself out of her room and needs a key. The clerk asks her for her room number, which she can't remember. She seemed somewhat out of it. He asks her her name and finally gives her a key and then the security guard escorts her back upstairs. The clerk comes over to us and says, " you know that was a USAir crewmember ". So on the ride into the airport we are wildly speculating about what happened while explaining to the other two F.A.s what we had seen.

Time goes by and every time I see Kristin she recounts the story. Eventually, a year later, we see each other in the terminal and she comes over and tells me she has found out the rest of the story. Here, all this time, we had assumed it was a drunk F.A. who somehow get locked out of her room. Well, not so. She was a female First Officer. Apparently, the next day, she explained what had happened to her captain. She normally sleeps in the buff ( albight with socks on ) and had gotten up to go to the bathroom. In the half inebbriated state she was in she opened the room door instead of the bathroom door and before she realized it the door closed behind her, locking her out of her room.


TP