Onur Air Back from Fethiye now after a beautiful two weeks.We had a nightmare with the flight back though.
We flew on Onur Airlines, flight OHY 619, 04:40hrs flight from Dalaman to Birmingham.
We'd been in the air for about 40-50 minutes when the drama started. Some passengers recalled not feeling that things were right from the word go and we remember a strange and unfamiliar whirring noise before take off. It may be unrelated to actual problems but can't help but think that we commented on it at the time. Our aircraft lost pressure in the cabin 3 times, forcing the plane to drop vertically. The oxygen masks came down on the third time, sending everyone into an instant panic. There were some teenage girls a couple of rows behind us that started screaming. We were informed by the pilot that we were making an emergency landing due to technical problems. While he was speaking, you could hear the sound ground control in the background. It seemed it was all go in the cock pit. We could smell burning. I swear to God, I thought I was going to die. We all did. My girlfriend was holding the man's hand next to her or so I assumed. Turns out he had grabbed hers in the panic. It took 45 minutes to get into Istanbul, the longest, most terrifying 45 minutes of my life. Ever. My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to have secured seats with extra leg room which meant we were next to an emergency exit. We did not have a window seat which we are now quite grateful for. Other passengers with window seats later reported that we were over water when the oxygen masks were deployed. Upon descending into Istanbul, we could hear the plastic interior of aircraft creaking with every touch of turbulence. The engine roared and revved in a fashion unlike I'd ever experienced. There were clearly problems with the electrics as the pinging "seat belt warning" sound kept ringing in succession. 4 times. Then 6 times. There was a woman seated about 5 rows ahead of us that had a fit / panic attack. This was met by an airline steward giving her an oxygen tank and shouting out, "Is there a doctor on board?!". He later had to strap himself into a seat next to the emergency exit as we were landing in the next 5 minutes. Passengers were panicking and accusing him of not doing enough to help the woman. When we landed, everyone cheered and there were tears of relief throughout the aircraft. We were met at Ataturk airport by many fire engines and ambulances. They followed us until the aircraft came to a halt. As none of us actually knew what was wrong with the aircraft, we were all worrying how the landing would go. I later found out that the man next to my girlfriend was a trainee pilot in the RAF. Said he'd been through similar drills but had never been so frightened in his life either. The airline gave no spokes person, no explanation, no apology. We sat in a waiting lounge at Ataturk airport for 4.5hrs, exhausted and frightened of getting on another plane. It took around 2 hours before anyone acknowledged that we might require food and drink, not that many still had an appetite. The terminal we were kept in made a nice profit from people having to buy water and coffee when we landed. Oxygen dries your mouth out something terrible. When they called our flight number and told us that a new aircraft had been allocated, there was some debate about whether we would board or not. Originally, everyone said they'd stick together and demand to fly via a British airline but after waiting for an Embassy rep to arrive, found out that we'd have to pay from our own pockets. In the end, we all hesitantly boarded the Air Bus back to Birmingham, everyone on edge. Grown men were crying at the prospect of getting back on a plane. Every touch of turbulence made us tighten our grips on the seats. The flight back was about 3hrs and 45 mins. Needless to say, there was a mass round of applause when we landed safely in Birmingham.We couldn't believe that one of the stewardesses actually thanked us for flying with Onur Air and "hoped that we travelled with them again". Nervous laughter erupted, followed by relaxing incidental music piped through the airline speakers.
Kaytee and I are both deeply traumatised by the event, as I'm sure all 250 people (appx) aboard that first flight are. It still feels like some surreal dream, perhaps not quite sunk in yet. It might be some time before we can brave flying again. It's frightening to think how vulnerable we really are. We put too much trust in our surroundings.
I don't think that the airline gave the plane proper checks before letting us depart. When we arrived at the terminal at Dalaman airport Friday morning, there was no plane in site. Within a matter of 30 minutes, the plane had arrived and we started boarding. Some of the oxygen masks didn't work at all. And one fell apart completely. The man whose mask fell apart kept a piece of it for evidence. They clearly hadn't been checked in some time. Upon arriving home, we've researched Onur Air on the internet, only to discover that they are banned from landing in 4 EU countries due to alleged safety breaches. This story comes from the BBC and can be read here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4552435.stmI could have made a comment to the effect of, "don't compromise on safety for the sake of saving a few pounds" but I would not consider this a cheap flight at £180 return each. Regardless, whether this flight cost £1 or £1000 the same safety standards should be met equally.
I am shocked and appalled. I want them banned in England. I want to know why they are not already. And I want a full report of exact events on flight OHY 619.
We have been checking the internet and local papers for any stories relating to this incident. There is a small piece in Hurriyet (Turkish newspaper) and in a Midlands paper, The Sunday Mercury. The journalist contacted Onur Air and a spokesman said, "There were pressure problems on the plane so it came back to Istanbul. The passengers then got on another flight back to Birmingham. People stayed calm because there was nothing wrong with the plane. There was no emergency landing."Kerim Ruzjar, Operations Manager from Gold Trail Holidays who charter flights for Onur Air has been quoted, "Like any airline, I'm sure they reassured their passengers and a replacement was sent to take them back to Birmingham."
We cannot believe that this is the reaction and official line on what happened. It goes some way to explain why we were not met with any form of explanation or apology in Istanbul as it would set them up for blame. Their comments, however, are ludicrous. Why would a plane be diverted to Istanbul and met by emergency services upon landing if it had not been an "emergency landing". The pilot even worded as such upon our descent. There was a plane full of witnesses to vouch for this. It would have cost Onur Air a great sum to charter an Air Bus specifically for us. They also would have had to get ground control at Istanbul airport to delay flights in order to clear skies and runway for us to land. Would they have done all of this if it hadn't been an emergency?! Unbelievable.
On a personal level, I would never wish for anyone to experience what we did on Friday morning. A million and one thoughts race through your mind in such a situation: Will we survive? How will we die? Will it hurt? I'd never been so happy to see Birmingham.
