Calls Plane Unsafe; Pax NOT Happy

This story may top all others when it comes to "worst flight ever"... except for the fact, technically, it never left the ground. Tempers flared among passengers onboard a Turkish airline flight this week, when the captain refused to fly them back to Bristol from Antalya, Turkey.

The captain informed the passengers of his decision in a rather spectacular fashion -- as he walked into the cabin just before the plane was set to leave the gate, said the aircraft was unsafe, and that he wouldn't fly on it as pilot or passenger... and then strode from the plane, and presumably his job.

The Bristol Evening Post reports a "mini-riot" then ensued onboard the plane... where the 180 passengers onboard had already had enough, after suffering for 30 minutes in a hot cabin, as the air-conditioning was not working in the Onur Air Airbus A321.

Some passengers also reported an odd noise from the engines shortly before the captain made his announcement. "The plane's engines seemed to be making a horrendous noise before it took off and then the captain came out and announced he was resigning," said passenger Andy Burridge.

Panic ensued among some of the passengers, with one woman experiencing an asthma attack and another couple banging on the windows, demanding to be let off the airliner.

"It was like a mini-riot after this," said Burridge. "People were having panic attacks and women were crying. Some people marched up to the front and demanded to be let off.

Onur Air officials struggled to accommodate the unhappy passengers, eventually putting them on another flight back to the UK. After their earlier experience, about 20 passengers refused to board that Onur Air flight, however... preferring to take their chances with another airline.

The nature of any mechanical or safety issues onboard the A321 were not immediately known.

An agent for the airline insisted contrary to the pilot's opinion, the plane was safe to fly -- adding the pilot had already served the airline with his notice, and may have decided to "stage a bit of a performance."

"Obviously it was not nice for our clients," said Goldtrail Holidays spokeswoman Rebecca Copeland. "There was a minor technical fault on the plane which could have been fixed and would not have affected the passengers' safety.

"We have flown more than 600 flights to and from Turkey this summer with Onur Air and this is the first incident we have had," she added.

FMI: www.onurair.com.tr/eng/