American Airlines, oh my

So the flight from Dallas to Boston was on time. The pilot had just put the landing gear down and was making his final descent into Logan when suddenly he threw the plane into a steep climb, pinned it, and put the landing gear away. Apparently, the transponder in the circa 1987 MD 80 was malfunctioning so he was flying blind in zero visibility.

We were diverted to Hartford Airport, and informed that a mechanic would fix us up in no time. Really.

As the plane was old, and I have loads of experience with old cars, I asked the pilot if he tried jiggling the transponder. He had not tried the jiggle approach and thought it wouldn't be prudent.

Our travel office thought the explanation sounded like hooey, so we got a rental car and drove the 100 miles from Hartford to Boston. Two and a half hours later, I was picking up my dog from doggie day care. The tired American Airlines flight landed in Boston hours after I was home, so it was a thrill to know I didn't believe the lies.

Air travel is worse than ever.

Hope you are well.


JWB