De-icing Crew's Efforts Thwarted By Winter Storm

Last week's winter storm that blanketed much of the nation's midsection with a covering of ice left an indelible impact on 84 travelers in Columbus, OH, their flight to Orlando delayed for hours by persistent freezing rain that was accumulating faster than de-icing crews could keep up with.

After boarding Air Tran Flight 373 just before 7:30 am last Wednesday, passengers waited until 11:29am for ground crews to dig the Boeing 717 out of the snow and ice and push it back from the gate to the de-icing pad. But freezing rain had already built up a thick coating of ice on the plane.

AirTran Airways spokesman Tad Hutcheson described the airplane as an aeronautical "popsicle," with new ice accumulating as fast as the de-icing crew could clear it off. "The airport was just a mess, an absolute mess," he said.

The Orlando Sentinel reports passengers were allowed to de-plane to buy lunch, and then re-boarded as efforts resumed for the afternoon. De-icing attempts continued until 4:38pm, at which time the Captain conceded defeat at the hands of Mother Nature and returned Flight 373 to the gate.

A replacement airliner was flown into Columbus from Atlanta, which finally departed for Orlando with 84 weary passengers at 5:46pm and touched down at their long-awaited destination at 8:00pm - nine-and-a-half hours late.

Hutcheson's tone was contrite as he confessed that if the airline realized the futility of the de-icing efforts earlier on, the flight would have been cancelled. AirTran sent a letter of apology to the passengers Wednesday night, offering compensation of free round-trip tickets, he said.

"Before switching planes, it got a little hostile," passenger Julie Ralston said. "People were getting loud: 'We're hot; we're hungry; why are other people taking off?' "

Ralston's luggage got left behind in Columbus. "I'm at my parents' [house] with no clothes," she said. "It's been an exhausting day."

FMI: www.airtran.com