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You are here: Articles > Flight stories > Flight to Lima #4
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Article overview After a pleasant vacation, the family comes back... the next year! For the first leg back to Montreal, they fly on the same AeroPeru DC-10 that brought them to Lima. Only problem is: the flight is late... Originally published in February 1999. Re-edited in March 2000. |
 fter two marvelous weeks in my country, Peru, it is time to go back to reality: Montreal and its cold winter weather. A word or two about the vacation: we visited many friends and family over there, walked around the city, had marvelous food... simply had a lot of fun.
 The trip... to the airportIt's January 14, 1995. The whole return trip starts by going to the airport. We ride on one of our friend's car, while the other car is driven by another friend and is carrying, in the trunk and in the back seat, all our suitcases (8 in total). As we get to the airport, we notice it is slightly crowded. We get immediately to the AeroPeru check-in counter, which is located right next to Aeromexico, of course! Right next to it, there is the Alitalia local office, and what I suppose is a panoramic deck view. Glass windows, and many parked planes there. I ask my mom if I can go there and watch the planes while she deals with the ticket mumbo-jumbo. So I do. I watch a Faucett Airlines L-1011 plane on take-off, while many Aero Continente and Americana Boeing 737s are boarding passengers or being refueled.
Delays, delays...While proceeding to the Passengers Only zone, our passports are checked, our hand luggage is scanned and we proceed to the boarding area. Many flights are leaving at the same time. I see the AeroPeru Boeing 757 which is going to Miami as well, but as flight 602. On the other side, an Avensa 727 is on pushback, and an Alitalia Boeing 747 is being refueled. We get outside the airport, and amazement, it is the exact same DC-10 we took to fly here, the one with no logo. After a quick picture of my parents in front of the plane, we get onboard by the aft stairs. 
Inside, it is a lot busier than last time. The plane is crowded. We find our seats. I sit down on seat 33J. It is 11:15 and at this moment, we should be on take-off. But no... 30 minutes later, the plane is on pushback, while I see an employee following the plane under the right wing. The flight attendant announces the trip will last 4 hours 50 minutes, 10 minutes less than the last trip. We taxi to the runway while the flight attendants demonstrate the safety procedures. A few moments before take-off, they pass through the cabin to hand us the small candy, again. I am sort of getting used to fly with AeroPeru. It is quite pleasant. Then, with a lot of rumble, and the bumps of the runway at Lima, we take-off, and leave, once again, our beloved country.
Sightseeing tour in the skies!A few minutes later, we reach a safety altitude and the seat belt sign turns off. Later, we hear the following message on the P.A.: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain. On our right, you have the Mount Huascaran in the Andes Mountains". Now I can't remember whether he talked about the Callejon de Huaylas or Mount Huascaran, but it was most likely the second one. At this exact second, all the passengers turn to the right, and many leave their seats to watch the wonders. The captain hasn't quite reached cruising altitude, and is flying right above the mountains. 
My sister, who is sitting next to me, quickly gets her photo camera out and snaps a few pictures. The passengers get very excited and move around to see the mountains better. After a few minutes, the mountains are out of sight, and the aircraft climbs to final cruising altitude. I take a look at the pocket in the seat in front of me, and notice this time, they included an inflight magazine. It's "Aboard" , the magazine used by many Latin-American airlines and personalized to the airline. The articles do not change, except for the one about the airline's country.
Smoking or non-smoking?About one hour after take-off, the meal is served. This time, we have a choice between Chicken Cacciatore and Beef Roast. I take the beef and my sister takes chicken. The food is excellent once again. For the drinks, we are lucky. Inca Kola is part of them. Ever heard of Inca Kola? It's THE soft drink of Peru. It's yellow and very sweet, with a taste that many qualify as similar to bubble gum. It's a pride for Peru, and is in fierce competition with Coca Cola. The rest of the flight is rather quiet, except when I notice I am in a SMOKING seat, and everybody around me starts smoking. It takes one, and in no time, the whole cabin starts smoking! Hopefully, after 15 minutes, it stops, and the ventilation system of the aircraft takes over. Turbulence!
About one hour before we reach Miami, the weather gets worse. Outside the aircraft, the nice white clouds are replaced by large gray clouds. Soon, nothing is visible outside, except total gray, and the wingtip for moments. The Captain announces finally: "Folks, this is the Captain. We have started our descent into the Miami area. Temperature is 27 centigrades. Currently, it is raining, and we expect deteriorating weather".
After that, the plane starts shaking heavily. My older sister, who fears turbulence, is worried. I reassure her with a smile and the following words: "This is normal turbulence. Don't worry. Commercial aircraft are equipped for this kind of weather." Right after that, I double-check if my seatbelt is tightly fastened. We keep descending and the bumps get worse. At about 4:48PM, we finally see the ground. The city looks awful. All dark and big drops of water hitting the windows. During touchdown I see an Avianca 757 (in a white color scheme) holding short and then... BANG!!! BANG!!! 
...I don't hear bumps, but rather explosions, with a sound similar to when a balloon explodes. Everybody stands up and an exasperated male flight attendant yells: "Everybody, remain seated!". The plane slows down and rolls to Concourse B. Later, there were rumors that the sound was in fact one of the landing gear tires that blew up. Out the window, I see many aircraft from many airlines, in despite of the rain: a Virgin 747, a Lauda Air 747, and many American Airlines aircraft. We finally park at the gate, and I notice something obstructing my window. It's the baggage door that had just been opened. I look at my watch and notice it is 4:51PM. How precise! AeroPeru can be late on scheduled departure, but when it comes to scheduled flight time, they're number one!
Editor's Note: In the aftermath of the crash of flight PL603 , AeroPeru went out of business in 1999. | ||||||
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This is part of a series of 5 articles on a trip from Montreal to Lima and back. Click on the numbers below for easy navigation.
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All DC-10 pictures: by Sergio Ortega, captured and modified from Microsoft Flight Simulator 98. Andes Mountains: from Corbis © 1998-2008, airodyssey.net. All rights reserved. Disclaimer, trademarks, privacy policy. |
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