“ That depends on the seats you are going to offer us!”
Many times in my early career, I came in on the night shift and was given a special assignment. Another trip that sticks out is when I was sent to Dubai to fix a DC-10 that was stranded there.
I agreed and was on the next Air Lanka flight, which stopped at Zurich and then onto Dubai. We were told the cause of the defect was an RCCB (remote control circuit breaker), so we took a spare with us.
On arrival at Dubai airport, after clearing passport control and immigration, we were met by the station engineer, who took us out to the aircraft.
As we walked around the DC-10, the station engineer said he would go and get us some plane steps and return in half an hour. Instead of twiddling our thumbs, we noticed a smaller set of step ladders in the corner. We placed them underneath the avionics hatch, opened it and accessed the aircraft via the avionics bay. We identified the faulty RCCB pretty swiftly and it was just a matter of replacing it. The whole process only took 10 minutes! We then accessed the rest of the aircraft via the avionics bay hatch, climbed into the cabin, onto the flight deck and started the APU. All systems operated correctly. The plane was now ready to be fuelled and depart.
As we congratulated each other in the empty cockpit, the station engineer arrived with the aircraft steps, which he put in place, and then opened the cabin door. He poked his head through and asked, “How long are you going to be?”
“We’re finished! The aircraft is serviceable!” I beamed proudly.
He couldn’t believe what he heard, “Fuck me! I have just chartered a 747 to take the passengers to Hong Kong!” A costly mistake.
My colleague and I shrugged. It seems Dubai was not yet accustomed to Glaswegian efficiency! He shrugged it off too. It was done! And to be fair, there was no way he could have known how long the job was going to take.
“What do you guys want to do then!?” He asked us, “Do you want to go back on the aircraft to Gatwick tonight or stay in a hotel and fly tomorrow?”
“Depends on the seats you are going to offer us!” I grinned.
He nodded, “Let me check…” he then put a call on the radio and started speaking Arabic. My fitter and I looked at each other, mentally crossing our fingers.
The station engineer finished his conversation and looked at us, “We have two first-class seats available.”
“We’ll go tonight then!” I said, trying to contain my excitement and remain professional.
He then took us back to the terminal building and bid us farewell. We went back through immigration and into the departure lounge via duty-free, where a litre of whiskey was an astonishing £2.50!!! I’m glad I didn’t have a suitcase with me as I dread to think how many I would have bought!
We boarded the aircraft and were led to the opulent first-class section. It’s nothing like it is today, but at that time, it was the classiest form of travelling I had ever been part of! I had just got comfy in my first-class seat and was accepting some fresh orange juice and dates from the lovely air hostess when the captain asked me to the flight deck. I begrudgingly accepted and walked down the aircraft to the cockpit. I barely got my name out before the captain asked curtly, “There is a smell on the flight deck! Is that anything to do with you?!”
I was in no mood for sparring with another captain, so I took a quick sniff and then responded just as sharply.
“That’s nothing whatsoever to do with me, that is the smell from the ground power unit exhaust, that’s diesel you’re smelling!”
He didn’t believe me, so, I suggested he start the APU, “Remove the ground power, and you’ll have your answer!” Turns out I was right! The thank you was more of a mumble, but I took it!
Once that was sorted, I returned to my lovely seat and had an incredible flight home. This was my introduction to the first class and my first visit to Dubai. Little did I know then that it would not be my last!
If you have a stranded aircraft that needs rescuing, or you would like to know more about our history then please get in touch via our contact page.
