Full of Eastern promise?
Episode 5 - Concluding the saga from: www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/27478479388/in/datepos...
Once a head-count had taken place and several 'US School type' Buses had been sourced, we were taken around the airport to the old Terminal building
Previdecales Airport has been modernised since our arrival there 33 years ago with a runway extension and a new Terminal.
Suffice to say that 300 passengers mostly with few possessions were a huge burden on the minimal facilities that the Airport then offered
Visiting traffic there was a mixture of General Aviation and light aircraft with the odd Boeing 727 and BAC 111 thrown in. Note that both of those latter airliners have built-in rear Airstairs - something that as the day wore on became an issue.
Bear in mind that back then 'Mobile (Cell) phones' were still of the huge 'brick' type and as such tele-communications were limited but the first thing that happened was a 'CBS' press crew with camera arrived in a light 'Twin'
By then the crew had elected to taxi the Tristar back to park a few hundred yards away and a ground crew began unloading all the luggage onto the Tarmac
A while later a 'Company' Boeing 727 arrived and taxied in running right up to the throng of people spilled outside of the small Terminal and promptly spun it through 180 degrees, blowing all the debris, sand and anything else all over us so that it's Airstairs were immediately accessible.
Then a couple of 'Eastern' suits appeared and tried to get some order dictating that any injured, plus women and children would go first on to San Juan - our intended destination. We elected to stick together as at that point we still had nothing to our name bar what we stood up in.
After that one departed we were allowed out to the Tristar to identify and collect our luggage and then there was the problem of possessions still in the cabin.
A set of standard Air stairs were sourced along with a wooden ladder which was propped up on the top of them to get us up to the doors!!!
Once that protracted exercise was sorted, they bussed us to Club Med for a couple of hours while we waited for the 727 to return.
Much later it did and making the same 'passenger friendly' pirouette in front of us, we clambered aboard with a couple of dozen passengers having to climb aboard the Tristar which they'd decided to risk flying out
Having spent several hours there in not ideal circumstances and with two fairly worn-out youngsters we arrived in Puerto Rico after midnight to a hotel arranged by Eastern before completing our trip a day later than planned.
After all that 'fun' imagine my wife's 'delight' in then having a trip in a tiny Britten-Norman Islander - skimming the Carribean waves for 45 minutes or so down to Beef Island in the British Virgin islands!
Post-script
Trawling the web 33 years on - amazingly I found this report submitted the day after
articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-08-06/news/8502010569_1_bo...
It makes interesting reading and may have had an 'Eastern Corporate' bias to it as there were injuries and as far as we know the Tristar followed us out to San Juan a few minutes after we departed
As to Eastern - unlike many of the more vocal US passengers aboard we didn't file any Law Suits but did write to them suggesting a few things they might like to do differently should it ever occur again.
In reply - they kindly sent us a wad of Air Miles but ironically before we could use them - they went 'bust'!
Photo's
Please note that these three Photo's and the previous one with the chutes out are courtesy of the couple we befriended after the event - that lady here snapped by her husband showing the Tristar.
The CBS crew that arrived to film and interview our fellow passengers and lastly, that Boeing 727 - N821EA that made two trips down to San Juan - here waiting for us to board.
Unfortunately, in the ensuing 33 years, we've mislaid that kind couple's details but if you recognise her - do please let me know
Scanned prints - 'not' taken by me
Full of Eastern promise?
Episode 5 - Concluding the saga from: www.flickr.com/photos/29288836@N00/27478479388/in/datepos...
Once a head-count had taken place and several 'US School type' Buses had been sourced, we were taken around the airport to the old Terminal building
Previdecales Airport has been modernised since our arrival there 33 years ago with a runway extension and a new Terminal.
Suffice to say that 300 passengers mostly with few possessions were a huge burden on the minimal facilities that the Airport then offered
Visiting traffic there was a mixture of General Aviation and light aircraft with the odd Boeing 727 and BAC 111 thrown in. Note that both of those latter airliners have built-in rear Airstairs - something that as the day wore on became an issue.
Bear in mind that back then 'Mobile (Cell) phones' were still of the huge 'brick' type and as such tele-communications were limited but the first thing that happened was a 'CBS' press crew with camera arrived in a light 'Twin'
By then the crew had elected to taxi the Tristar back to park a few hundred yards away and a ground crew began unloading all the luggage onto the Tarmac
A while later a 'Company' Boeing 727 arrived and taxied in running right up to the throng of people spilled outside of the small Terminal and promptly spun it through 180 degrees, blowing all the debris, sand and anything else all over us so that it's Airstairs were immediately accessible.
Then a couple of 'Eastern' suits appeared and tried to get some order dictating that any injured, plus women and children would go first on to San Juan - our intended destination. We elected to stick together as at that point we still had nothing to our name bar what we stood up in.
After that one departed we were allowed out to the Tristar to identify and collect our luggage and then there was the problem of possessions still in the cabin.
A set of standard Air stairs were sourced along with a wooden ladder which was propped up on the top of them to get us up to the doors!!!
Once that protracted exercise was sorted, they bussed us to Club Med for a couple of hours while we waited for the 727 to return.
Much later it did and making the same 'passenger friendly' pirouette in front of us, we clambered aboard with a couple of dozen passengers having to climb aboard the Tristar which they'd decided to risk flying out
Having spent several hours there in not ideal circumstances and with two fairly worn-out youngsters we arrived in Puerto Rico after midnight to a hotel arranged by Eastern before completing our trip a day later than planned.
After all that 'fun' imagine my wife's 'delight' in then having a trip in a tiny Britten-Norman Islander - skimming the Carribean waves for 45 minutes or so down to Beef Island in the British Virgin islands!
Post-script
Trawling the web 33 years on - amazingly I found this report submitted the day after
articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-08-06/news/8502010569_1_bo...
It makes interesting reading and may have had an 'Eastern Corporate' bias to it as there were injuries and as far as we know the Tristar followed us out to San Juan a few minutes after we departed
As to Eastern - unlike many of the more vocal US passengers aboard we didn't file any Law Suits but did write to them suggesting a few things they might like to do differently should it ever occur again.
In reply - they kindly sent us a wad of Air Miles but ironically before we could use them - they went 'bust'!
Photo's
Please note that these three Photo's and the previous one with the chutes out are courtesy of the couple we befriended after the event - that lady here snapped by her husband showing the Tristar.
The CBS crew that arrived to film and interview our fellow passengers and lastly, that Boeing 727 - N821EA that made two trips down to San Juan - here waiting for us to board.
Unfortunately, in the ensuing 33 years, we've mislaid that kind couple's details but if you recognise her - do please let me know
Scanned prints - 'not' taken by me