NS VIA Fan
Conductor
There’s been some news reports the past couple of days regarding a United Airlines flight from Newark to Hong Kong that was diverted to Goose Bay, Labrador. It started out as a medical emergency which should have only been a quick stopover but the aircraft went mechanical and it was over 14 hours before a replacement aircraft could be brought in.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/20/us/united-flight-canada-grounded/index.html
Goose Bay Airport in Labrador is a former US and Canadian Air Force Base left over from the cold war era……with an 11,000’ runway, large ramp areas and hangers. Goose regularly sees transatlantic aircraft in to refuel but it does handle emergencies such as this United flight and an Air France A380 last year that blew an engine over the Atlantic.
Although the United flight was taking the Polar route to Hong Kong it was no where’s near the North Pole when the diversion occurred as some of the news reports led you to believe. Goose Bay is at 53.3N or about the same latitude as Dublin Ireland, Liverpool/Manchester UK, and Hamburg Germany… although it does have colder temperatures and the day of the diversion just happened to be one of the coldest days Goose has experienced in several years just like a lot of North America last weekend.
I’m in Goose Bay often for work. Here’s a few pictures (at a much warmer time of the year!)
Besides the Air Force 5 Wing Goose Bay facilities….. there’s an attractive Civilian Terminal Building but with a capacity geared more to the Air Canada and Provincial Airlines regional aircraft it usually sees (not a wide-body load of passengers) along with the Twin Otter ‘bus’ service along the Labrador coast.
http://www.goosebayairport.com/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/20/us/united-flight-canada-grounded/index.html
Goose Bay Airport in Labrador is a former US and Canadian Air Force Base left over from the cold war era……with an 11,000’ runway, large ramp areas and hangers. Goose regularly sees transatlantic aircraft in to refuel but it does handle emergencies such as this United flight and an Air France A380 last year that blew an engine over the Atlantic.
Although the United flight was taking the Polar route to Hong Kong it was no where’s near the North Pole when the diversion occurred as some of the news reports led you to believe. Goose Bay is at 53.3N or about the same latitude as Dublin Ireland, Liverpool/Manchester UK, and Hamburg Germany… although it does have colder temperatures and the day of the diversion just happened to be one of the coldest days Goose has experienced in several years just like a lot of North America last weekend.
I’m in Goose Bay often for work. Here’s a few pictures (at a much warmer time of the year!)
Besides the Air Force 5 Wing Goose Bay facilities….. there’s an attractive Civilian Terminal Building but with a capacity geared more to the Air Canada and Provincial Airlines regional aircraft it usually sees (not a wide-body load of passengers) along with the Twin Otter ‘bus’ service along the Labrador coast.
http://www.goosebayairport.com/