LAST PLANE OUT OF PUERTO RICO FLIES DARING PATH.
The last flight out of Puerto Rico as hurricane Irma consumed the tiny island left just as the control tower was being evacuated and flew a daring path between one of the outer bands of the massive Category 5 storm and its devastating core.
The eyebrow- raising path of Delta Air Lines Flight 302, Wednesday, caught aviation watchers by surprise, leading to anxious followers on social media tracking its progress through the deadly and historic storm on radar flight trackers.
As other flights heading to Puerto Rico were seen abruptly turning around and abandoning the trip late morning, Delta’s Boeing 737- 900ER kept heading toward the storm’s menacing concentric swirls.
A video taken by Wladimir Castro, an air traffic control specialist in San Juan, shows the wind whipping nearby trees, driving rain and the tail of splashing water left in its wake as the Delta flight landed at 12: 01 p. m. After a hurried deplaning, refuelling and boarding of 173 passengers, Flight 302 was ready for takeoff just 40 minutes later.
Castro’s video of its departure shows deteriorating conditions, as the sky grew darker and rain looked heavier.
The pilot, whom the National Post understands is a 20- year veteran commercial captain who is a former United States Air Force pilot, did not respond to requests for an interview from the Post and Delta declined to arrange to make him available.
On social media, the pilot was largely hailed for his bravery and steady hands, although a few said the flight seemed risky and foolhardy.
Delta downplayed the drama of the flight.
The airline said the plane arrived at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to nine miles of visibility and light rain.
“Winds were around 24 knots with gusts up to 31 knots — all well below operating limits for the 737900ER to safely operate,” Delta said in a written statement.
The flight out, the last to take off before the airport was closed and the control tower evacuated, took off at 12:41 p.m.
Erik Snell, Delta’s vice- president of operations and customer centre, however, praised the airline’s flight crew and meteorology team for plotting safe passage.
“They took a hard look at the weather data and the track of the storm and worked with the flight crew and dispatcher to agree it was safe to operate the flight. And our flight and ground crews were incredible in their effort to turn the aircraft quickly and safely so the flight could depart well before the hurricane threat.”
Those following planes scurrying to avoid the storm were gripped by the possibilities.
Flightradar24. com tracked the flight live on social media and declared it an “incredible feat.”
Jason Rabinowitz, an aviation enthusiast, live tweeted the flight’s passage. He at first expressed skepticism at the wisdom of Flight 302 heading to San Juan in the face of the enormous storm pattern approaching from the opposite direction.
He was soon caught up in the journey.
“Now for the quickest turn ever,” he tweeted once the flight landed in San Juan and wind was picking up speed. As the plane skirted up between the arm of one of the hurricane’s swirls to safety, he declared: “Amazing stuff.”
Flight 302 arrived safely back in New York ahead of schedule.