Liberia Travels

Sometimes Travel in Liberia is just a bit Different..

OOPS!!

Crossing high quality bridges are fun too

Just a couple of photos I thought I'd share with you.

Stay Safe!!

A Short CTO - Back in Liberia

Well, I have enjoyed a short time off from Liberia - it felt good to get out for a while. I was able to get some things done at home while on leave, but I didn't even announce to anyone that I was going home, as I had such little time there. I enjoyed the visit home, and I got a few things done around the house - some rewiring, some pool fixing, and of course we had a small storm come in when I was there. I didn't do a whole lot besides that, but it was good to be home and good to take care of some stuff. I did pick up a few things for folks working in Liberia, that they do not have available, in their home country.



One item was kind of mistake for me to pick up - it was a ginormous laptop. It has a 21 inch screen and all accessories included weighed 30 lbs. That really cut back on stuff that I could bring back with me, but, it really wasn't too big of a deal.

On a "dumb people" note:

On the flight back from Brussels to Liberia on Brussels Airlines, there was this lady sitting in an exit row seat - she had he bag in front of her and the flight crew told her she had to move it – so they placed it a couple of rows behind her in the over - head bin. That wasn't the dumb part. The dumb part was when we had stopped in Abidjizan, the plane changed flight crews. Guess what? The whole scene of the bag in front of her and having to move it was replayed. - So I am wondering, is she that dumb, or did she think that the new flight crew wouldn't notice, or maybe have different rules... Oh well, it was just one of those things that bug me.

It didn't bug me as much as the "devil child" that was sitting behind me, crying for attention only and kicking the back of my seat. Of course her mother was just ignoring all of that, and it is just a 9 hour trip or so. I quickly resolved the kicking issue by looking around the seat and giving the child one of those "I will cut you up in pieces and eat you alive" looks. It did work really well.

Other than that the trip went exceptionally well.

I Was Just Thinking About Flying Home When...

OK, just to let you all know, I am planning to be home back in the States the end of July for a few weeks during my "compensatory time off." I have even got my leave approved, I have already bought the tickets (I figured with rising fuel prices and such, it would be a good idea.

I got my tickets through Brussels Air, one of the few airlines that actually fly to Liberia from anywhere.

Well, this shows up in the news yesterday:

Plane aborts takeoff, injuring several passengers and closing
airport in Ivory Coast

© AP
2008-06-12 00:25:34 -


ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - A Brussels Airlines flight carrying about 150 people aborted its takeoff from Abidjan's airport on Wednesday night, and several passengers suffered minor injuries while making an emergency evacuation.

One of the pilots of the Airbus 330 told the passengers he had avoided takeoff after hearing a loud popping sound which he thought was a tire exploding. A fire truck raced to the runway and quickly extinguished one burning tire.

By stopping on the runway and blocking it at about 9 p.m., the plane caused officials to close the airport to all incoming and outgoing flights.

The pilot initially told passengers to remain in their seats. But suddenly the crew started shouting, "Evacuate! Evacuate!" The doors of the plane opened, and everyone raced down the emergency slides.

Several passengers, including this correspondent, suffered minor injuries such as bruises and sprained ankles during the evacuation.

The passengers initially ran into a grassy area alongside the runway, then some walked and some rode airport vehicles back to the terminal.

So what does a plane in ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast have to do with flying out of Monrovia? You see, it is the same flight, you either stop in Abidijan before arriving in Monrovia, or after you leve Monrovia, depending on the day of the week. It is a refueling issue. OK, for those of you STILL clicking on the blonde joke, it is the same plane.

This is a follow-up report I found on the situation:

An engine stall was experienced during t/o due to a bird strike. Aircraft veered to the right and t/o was aborted around 120kts. Left and right landing gear brakes caught fire. This was rapidly extinguished by the fire brigade. Crew decided to evacuate and deployed the 4 lh escape slides. Preliminary inspection reports no damage to aircraft + no deflated tires. Several brakes will be precautionary replaced due contamination with extignuishing agent. Engine external/internal inspection revealed no damage at
this point.Tech crew is indeed underway for a full check-up prior release of aircraft OO-SFN.

I just kind-of hope they get a new one before I fly out of here.

Y'all Stay Safe!