US Airways Flight Turns Back Due To High Winds

January 3, 2014

A group of Bermudians are presently ‘stuck’ in Philadelphia this evening [Jan 3] after their US Airways flight to Bermuda turned around due to high winds this afternoon.

We spoke with a Bermudian who was on the flight, who explained that the flight was supposed to leave at 10.15am, however it was delayed until 12pm and they took off without incident.

Mid-way through the journey the pilot came over the intercom and said they were some some 160 miles out of Bermuda, however the high winds in Bermuda made it unsafe to land, so they would be heading back to Philadelphia.

Screenshot from a flight tracking website showing the plane’s u-turn:

tracker turnaround

They arrived back in Philadelphia at around 3.30pm, where they have been waiting for the past few hours.

She said that as of right now the agents haven’t given any indication they will be arranging a new flight, instead trying to offer seats on the already scheduled flights this week, with some suggestion made people may have to wait days for an available seat.

She said there are a number of other Bermudians ‘stuck’ in Philadelphia, with the passengers now having been at the airport for 12 hours, a situation that is less than ideal.

Some, she said, were transiting from warmer climates like Florida and aren’t prepared for the weather, while others were stuck at the airport with small children.

The group of Bermudians join thousands of other people experiencing travel disruption as the United States is being slammed with a massive winter storm which is wreaking havoc on airlines’ flight schedules.

More than 2,400 flights were canceled today, which followed after more than 2,600 cancellations on Thursday.

Governors in New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency, urging residents to stay home, and according to a CNN calculation nearly 140 million Americans will experience temperatures dipping to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

There are reports of some areas getting nearly 2 feet of snow, schools as far south as Washington D.C., were closed today and many government offices in the US also shut down.

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Comments (28)

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  1. Micro says:

    I bet if that was British Airways flight they would’ve stuck to the scheduled flight plan!

    • Booze cruise says:

      Doubt it! I was diverted to New York on a British airways flight a few years ago because of a squall over the runway.

    • feel the love says:

      If you had any clue as to what you are speaking of you would realize the BA flight is a 777 and the US Air flight is only an a319. The 777 is basically twice the size, roughly 4 times as powerful and much more capable of handling winds such as the ones today.

      Perhaps next time think or even better research before you open your mouth.

      • Micro says:

        Right because you know who I am and my background and are well versed in the capacity of my knowledge and experience…

        • markus says:

          Say something smart about planes that I can’t google right noww

      • ACE BOY... says:

        doesnt matter what size the aircraft is, it all boils down to safety and insurance policies.

    • Dwayne says:

      BA uses a heavier plane.

    • swing voter says:

      yup BA and AC land here regardless of wind speed and direction. I’ve seen the american carriers give up after a couple of attempts and head back north when the AC and BA pilots manage to put their bus on the ground stress free during the same windstorm

      • feel the love says:

        Amazing the ignorance…see above.

      • Triangle Drifter says:

        The ignorance spouted off in these comments sections never ceases to amaze.

        Weather paramaters for various aircraft are very specific for each type of aircraft, weight at the time of landing, wind speed & direction. The days of the ex bush pilots & WW2 aircraft pilots have been long gone.

        The pilot still makes the ultimate decision but he has many more rules to guide that decision today.

        • Micro says:

          Precisely

          • swing voter says:

            I worked at CAT in the 80s when all the carriers used 727 L1011 or DC10 and on one occasion witnessed 2 us carriers abort on A&P then an AC 727 land within 3 minutes under the same conditions then a PAN AM land with its port side wing plowing the grass verge along the runway…AC pilots were better trained

            • Sapphire says:

              A few years ago just as a hurricane approached, all flights to the island were cancelled. I was on Kindley Field Road when along comes British Airways. All I can describe seeing is that it looked like the plane was flying sideways-the wings weren’t level, they were totally tilted with the plane flying vertically and not horizontally. It was an ‘oh my god!’ moment because you expected to see the plane roll over and crash into fiery flames but no…at the very last second it leveled off and landed safely. I assume it was flying like that to offset the wind…I have never seen anything like it in my life-it was amazing. So while I understand that it’s all about the weight of the planes, you’ve got to admit that B.A. pilots have mad skills!

      • Concerned Citizen says:

        @swing voter….you have confirmed my suspicions about you! Haha

  2. Triangle Drifter says:

    Ahhhhh the adventure of air travel! Expensive too. The airline is not liable for your expenses incurred because of weather. Heck of an expense for the airline too. Flt down, flt back, flt down again.

    Hate to think what the terminals of the major cities have looked like the past couple nights with people trying to find a comfy place to pass the time.

  3. Honestly says:

    Safety first!

  4. Nuffin but da Truth says:

    suck it up and make the best of it…good for character building.
    It will teach you that not everyone is as lucky as you to live in Bermuda!

  5. Street Smart says:

    What Non-Pilots fail to realize is that American Pilots trained to fly in ALL environments! Not that cannot fly in adverse conditions, they will not because they are also raised in environment where LAW SUITS prevalent!! british pilots do not have to worry about such law suits. So…. before britsh airways pilots are touted as the best, consider that it is very difficult to judge between the two lawful environments. Therefore, American pilots are wise to play it safe, rather that attempt a landing in known bad weather, and risk a potentially bad outcome.

    • Nuffin but da Truth says:

      absolute nonsense!
      British Pilots can and have been involved in Legal Proceedings.
      ALL Pilots should fly safe,unfortunately,this is not always the situation.
      Do your research before commenting.

      • Street Smart says:

        You have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! I was trained in a U.S. Flight school! I know that british pilots were involed in law suits and legal proceedings. But not to extent that American pilots have been!

    • Sapphire says:

      B.A. pilots ARE the best…see my other post!!!

      As for these passengers, after reading their story on another site, they appear to be a bunch of whiners-or one person appeared to do all of the whining. This person complained about missing two funerals but if that flight had landed in unsafe conditions, people could have been going to HER funeral and a lot more. What do people expect? Do they want to be safe or what? Then to be making all kinds of demands against the airline-the airline had a lot to deal with with weather-related issues and were trying to re-book people as best they could but that wasn’t good enough for demanding Bermudians who wanted a whole new plane to themselves; give me a break!

      The whole world doesn’t revolve around us. These things are ‘Acts of God’ and beyond the airline’s control. Instead of throwing monumental hissy fits, how about working with them? It seems that this person doth protest too much, anyway. Most people would enjoy a few extra days’ vacation but then you don’t want your bosses to know you’re happy about it so what do you do-throw a fit, go literally crying to the media and boo-hoo about how the big, bad airline wouldn’t allow you to come home-oh, puh-leeze!

  6. lifetime says:

    Happens every year. Bermudians stuck out there because of winter storms.. Poor sights. Hang in der. Be patient.
    New year. New You.

    • Tricks Are For Kids says:

      Exactly….. Happens EVERY year… Yes it’s an inconvenience but it’s best to ‘ere on the side of caution… If the flight had landed and got into difficulty on landing and people were injured then it would be a different story…. Having been in a similar situation I have learned to travel with extra cash in case of delays and cancellations…. No sense stressing… Can’t control the weather unfortunately
      A United flight did land in Bermuda around 7 or so…. Not sure where it was coming from….

  7. James says:

    They may not be better but at least British Airways has never killed anyone!
    I still don’t like the fact that they rip us off. Go to Ba.com London and there is a banner saying the world is on sale.
    Go to Bermuda site and no mention of a sale.

    • Kangoocar says:

      Haven’t you heard the saying, Bermuda is another world?? That has to be the reason??

  8. Johnboy says:

    I would be vex to travel so far and have to turn back.

    “AY! Drop me off right herr, son. I’ll wait on that reef for my boy to pick me up in his boat, don.”

  9. mixitup says:

    Einsteins, American Air Carriers have more restrictive rules relating to acceptable conditions. US Airways has specified limits as it relates to wind speed/conditions that differs from others.

  10. Concerned Citizen says:

    Sigh, some of you folk have no idea what your talking about. Others are spot on@triangle and micro. Every aircraft manufactured has what is called a maximum crosswind component, which it should not exceed. This component is based on various factors, such as aircraft weight, wind direction, speed etc. A B777, as stated above, has a much higher max crosswind component then an A319. Also, every airline has its own standard ops procedures for various aircraft, but there is very little variance in regards to actually flying the aircraft. Pilot/Flight standards are universal, and so are regulatory standards. In other words, an American or Delta 777 captain, will operated his aircraft in basically the exact same manner as a BA captain. The same applies to SIA, TAM, Japan Air, Kenyan, Air France, Air Chins etc. ultimately, the captain has the final say, and safety comes first.