Can't make this up.

[gardenmom5]

I dropped off 2dd and her family at the airport. . . . . I just received a text from dsil.  10 minutes after their plane was supposed to leave the gate. . . . . 

the PILOT didn't show up!  (this is a major airline.)

I will give him grace that something happened - like a car accident on the way to the airport.  . . 

[prairiewindmomma]

This is the first time that has happened in your family?

We've had all kinds of issues like that....either the pilot was coming from a connecting flight, and missed it; the pilot had flown too many hours in one day (because of previous bad weather etc.), or the pilot overslept or whatever.

It is generally the rare experience that we have a flight without some kind of issue (pilot, crew, plane, weather, backlog in landing, etc.).

[Idalou]

It's certaiy not uncommon, that's why airlines have reserve and ready reserve crews. The pilot would normally be there at least an hour before takeoff or else the ready reserve one would be called from where he'd been hanging around in their lounge. I certainly hope he'd be given grace, as you say, if he was in an auto accident! Sometimes its just due to not setting their alarm clock, lol, or getting sick at the very last minute and having to get the ready reserve set up. 

[catz]

Not uncommon.  There can be lots of valid reasons for a situation like that, we have a couple friends who are pilots.  Hope they're off the ground quickly.  

[Kassia]

Not uncommon at all.  Ds1 had to sleep in an airport when he was in college due to this happening.  It's really frustrating! 

[scholastica]

One time, my original flight was canceled and the rebooked next flight nearly was. First, the plane hadn’t come in from its previous leg. Then when they finally got a plane, they had to round up a crew from among the crew stuck there who hadn’t reached their limits. Fun times!

[gardenmom5]

23 minutes ago, scholastica said:

One time, my original flight was canceled and the rebooked next flight nearly was. First, the plane hadn’t come in from its previous leg. Then when they finally got a plane, they had to round up a crew from among the crew stuck there who hadn’t reached their limits. Fun times!

We had our plane trapped on the ground in LA due to fires.  We were in Chicago. It was about five hours before we got out.

 

 

Got a text from dsil an hour after their scheduled departure that a pilot was finally on board and they would leaving.

[SKL]

This has happened to me before.

They delayed the flight for hours until another crew could arrive.

Then they said that if we didn't board the plane in record time, they would have to cancel the flight, because of some rule about how many hours a pilot/copilot team can be on the clock without an overnight break.

I would have been stranded overnight with no change of clothes etc.  In a suit, hose, heels.  Thankfully they got the flight into the air just in time.

[DawnM]

I once had a flight out of Burbank, we all loaded, the pilot and crew loaded, and the pilot got a call that his wife was in labor.   He ran off the plane and we all had to get off and wait for another pilot.   

[MooCow]

In my most recent plane fight, the pilot was entering just as the passengers were, and I saw him and said oh you should go ahead of me, and he replied :" no hurry, you can't fly without me, I'm the pilot." Then he proceeded to flirt with me outrageously with my youngest right there. 🤣 I love the french, lol.