How an Emergency Plumber Saved Our Flight
Recreational flying is fun and it takes you to great heights in the city. However, this kind of aircraft flying has its limitations, like the fact that you only are allowed to fly certain areas and heights, and going over those limitations will result in a sanction.
even when I do have a license to fly an aircraft, I can only fly a recreational plane, and these kinds of planes do not take me to other places farther away. That is why, on occasions, I too, ride a commercial airbus.
If I may compare, one of the things I really like about recreational flying is that its a solitary activity. It’s quiet and it gives me the chance to see the world and reflect on my life. This, I cannot do in a commercial flight. While overall, it is still a quiet place to be in, the presence of other people just does not make it fun, at least for me.
Of course, this does not mean I do not take delight in flying commercially. There are still some perks to it, like having the chance to eat or drink, rest, lay down comfortably, while enjoying the hype of being in the air and “flying.”
I have had my fair share of memorable moments while in a commercial aircraft. One incident that I could not forget was when the plane we were riding got into a situation that needed the presence of an emergency plumber.
Apparently, it was someone’s first time to fly, and when he felt the need to use the comfort rooms, he went ahead and thought it would be fun to poke around with the toilets and buttons. He got curious as to how the plumbing in the aircraft works, that suddenly, the toilet won’t stop draining water, like a vacuum has started somewhere down the connection of the pipes.
He panicked and called the attention of a flight attendant who at first was calm, but then also started getting worried because the water in the toilet was pushing up then down, and if it does not stop, then it could start spilling over.
Luckily for all of us who did not want to suffer a bad case of toilet water overflow, a plumber was in the flight. He didn’t have his tools, but he went ahead and assessed what the problem could be. Of course, he was not able to totally fix the problem, but at least, he was able to stop the toilet water from spilling over and making a mess in the aircraft, which we all would have to suffer. He made a temporary fix to the problem and an announcement was made that the comfort rooms were out of order.
Everyone had to control their bladders for the remaining hours of the flight but no one complained. People were just thankful that the situation was resolved before it got worse. The airline gave the plumber some benefits for helping out on the issue, and he was more than happy to receive them.
To this day, when I remember the incident, I kept thinking how would have things went, if the plumber was not there to help with the problem? This was especially bothering to me, considering that I sat near the comfort rooms.
