Plane ride to Evansville

[Ricky Del Rio]

One more and I will quit.

One time, we were returning from the east coast on the company plane and our pilot had the sudden urge for #2 in the bathroom. So, we sat down in STL and the pilot walked into the terminal building.

The urge left him, so he thought he would call weather before going to the john. While talking on the phone to weather, he filled his pants with a sudden diarrhea outburst right there on the concourse, which was loaded with travellers.

[Aargh]

Flight from Dallas to Wichita:

Just as we're about to take off, there's an odd smell. Sort of like burning plastic or rubber, but no smoke. Pretty strong. Lasted through just after we got off the ground.

A couple minutes into the flight, the Captain says, "I don't know what that smell was, but we had no choice but to continue the takeoff and go into our ascent. We'll be turning back now and landing to check it out".

The smell was gone, but when we landed, we had the entire emergency crew surrounding us and red lights flashing along our entire landing. Fire trucks, ambulances - everything. We ended up over a mile from the terminal, still surrounded by emergency equipment. Landing that wasy was a bigger freak out than the smell of something burning at takeoff.

[ShockRef]

I would imagine the turbulence they experienced on the flight to Evansville will pale to what they will have to endure on the way back.
I have to guess this equates to laying the biggest egg since the Scott Thompson days. To lose is one thing but to not give 110% effort is another. 8)

[Ricky Del Rio]

If I was AD Schaus, I would be worried to some extent, perhaps mucho, about the charter's judgment to fly in questionable weather.

From reading newspaper reports, I am pretty sure the weather was not totally unexpected.

My motto is fly as far as you can and then take ground transportation such as bus or rental car. A one to two hour drive is not bad.

Even when being careful and safety conscious, air travellers will get into risky situations sometimes. There is not any sense in inviting trouble.

[DUShock]

I hate skysharks, stealing air is not cool!

[60Shock]

I was a passenger on a military flight in 1968 from Saigon to My Tho, a major city in southern Viet Nam and the capital of Tien Giang Province, an inland port in the Mekong delta.

After about an hour into the flight, the pilot suddenly jerked the plane straignt downward for what seemed like an eternity. Everything and everyone that wasn't tied down went flying all over the place.

After finally leveling off at what we were informed was 10,000 feet, and only after we had extracted our stomachs from our a**holes, we were informed that the reason for our little downward excursion was that the Mighty Battleship New Jersey had recently unleashed a barrage of shells from its 16 inch guns heading for Cambodia. And we were directly in their flight path.

[Smooth007]

I was a passenger on a military flight in 1968 from Saigon to My Tho, a major city in southern Viet Nam and the capital of Tien Giang Province, an inland port in the Mekong delta.

After about an hour into the flight, the pilot suddenly jerked the plane straignt downward for what seemed like an eternity. Everything and everyone that wasn't tied down went flying all over the place.

After finally leveling off at what we were informed was 10,000 feet, and only after we had extracted our stomachs from our a**holes, we were informed that the reason for our little downward excursion was that the Mighty Battleship New Jersey had recently unleashed a barrage of shells from its 16 inch guns heading for Cambodia. And we were directly in their flight path.

:shock: That must have been intense. Do you still have nightmares about that?

[Snapshot9]

Well, while chasing a new ship which had departed for Nam 2 weeks earlier, I had a 15 1/2 hour bus ride from Long Beach to San Francisco, a 13 hour layover in terminal of the Air Force base, and then a 13 1/2 hour ride on a C-141 from Frisco via Anchorage to Yakota, Japan.

Later, went from Yakota to Clark AFB in the Philippines.

And the New Jersey saved our butts one time up off of Cua Viet by the DMZ.
Their shells weigh 2,500 lbs a piece with a 10 mile range +- 100 yards.

[DUShock]

There is a reason they call artillery (especially naval) "The King of Battle" Arty and CAS is an infantryman's lifesaver. I know I owe more than a few beers to the mudmovers and jet jocks of Southwest Asia. Hell, I'll even buy Sandman a round or two out of principle. I'll never forget a certqain Blacksmith when it was just 6 guys being saved by the "Airborne Ranger of the Sky" wayyyy out west in 2004.

[60Shock]

I was a passenger on a military flight in 1968 from Saigon to My Tho, a major city in southern Viet Nam and the capital of Tien Giang Province, an inland port in the Mekong delta.

After about an hour into the flight, the pilot suddenly jerked the plane straignt downward for what seemed like an eternity. Everything and everyone that wasn't tied down went flying all over the place.

After finally leveling off at what we were informed was 10,000 feet, and only after we had extracted our stomachs from our a**holes, we were informed that the reason for our little downward excursion was that the Mighty Battleship New Jersey had recently unleashed a barrage of shells from its 16 inch guns heading for Cambodia. And we were directly in their flight path.

:shock: That must have been intense. Do you still have nightmares about that?

Naw, 007, after I changed my shorts, I was fine.

[macshocker2004]

I know this is an old thread and all, but from what i've been told through people i know on the team, it was Schaus's decision for the flight to leave. Marshall didn't want to leave until the morning of the game, but Schaus insisted on leaving the night before. They had to sit on the tarmac to wait to get de-iced, which is why they hit all the turbulence. And from what i understand, Marshall was NOT happy that Schaus insisted they leave that night.

[Ricky Del Rio]

I know this is an old thread and all, but from what i've been told through people i know on the team, it was Schaus's decision for the flight to leave. Marshall didn't want to leave until the morning of the game, but Schaus insisted on leaving the night before. They had to sit on the tarmac to wait to get de-iced, which is why they hit all the turbulence. And from what i understand, Marshall was NOT happy that Schaus insisted they leave that night.

I don't know about the report.

Schaus is not an "insister" or "demander." He finesses everything.

Besides, anyone, who has had experience with air travel, does not demand anything, when there is concern about weather. Given WSU past tragedy, I cannot imagine AD Schaus or anyone else at the University would demand a flight in poor weather conditions.

Clearly, the decision to go could be questioned, but I am not sure of the role played by A.D. Schaus or Coach Marshall. It may be the charter pilot said it would be fine and Coach Marshall and A.D. Schaus went along with the recommendation.

[Rosewood]

I know this is an old thread and all, but from what i've been told through people i know on the team, it was Schaus's decision for the flight to leave. Marshall didn't want to leave until the morning of the game, but Schaus insisted on leaving the night before. They had to sit on the tarmac to wait to get de-iced, which is why they hit all the turbulence. And from what i understand, Marshall was NOT happy that Schaus insisted they leave that night.

Cite your sources...

[macshocker2004]

People on the plane, the pilots were indifferent wether they went the day of or the day before, WSU had the plane for the allotted time and were indifferent to when they left

[shockball]

I know this is an old thread and all, but from what i've been told through people i know on the team, it was Schaus's decision for the flight to leave. Marshall didn't want to leave until the morning of the game, but Schaus insisted on leaving the night before. They had to sit on the tarmac to wait to get de-iced, which is why they hit all the turbulence. And from what i understand, Marshall was NOT happy that Schaus insisted they leave that night.

I don't know about the report.

Schaus is not an "insister" or "demander." He finesses everything.

Besides, anyone, who has had experience with air travel, does not demand anything, when there is concern about weather. Given WSU past tragedy, I cannot imagine AD Schaus or anyone else at the University would demand a flight in poor weather conditions.

Clearly, the decision to go could be questioned, but I am not sure of the role played by A.D. Schaus or Coach Marshall. It may be the charter pilot said it would be fine and Coach Marshall and A.D. Schaus went along with the recommendation.

I went on the charter to the Creighton game. In the pouch on the back of the seat was the itenerary of the Oklahoma State team that had just traveled to Texas Tech. They had just used the plane. It was a pretty tight schedule.

The professionals are the ones that make those decisions, not the AD or the coach. Hope they're never too influenced by the demand for the plane.