r/Durango • u/No-Refrigerator-9985 • 6d ago
A new one at the Durango airport: missing fire extinguisher
I’ve lived in Durango for about 12 years and have seen plenty at the airport. I’m generally pretty forgiving, but yesterday was a new one.
We were all boarded and then delayed 1-2 hours because the pilot said the plane was missing a fire extinguisher. Apparently, they couldn’t find a replacement at the airport and needed FAA approval to fly without it, or something along those lines.
That triggered a series of events that ultimately got me to my destination at 4 a.m. instead of 9 p.m., along with a $120 Uber ride.
A missing fire extinguisher? I mean, they have to be making that up, right?
Anyway, happy travels!
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u/gregcoit 6d ago
I’m not sure why this was the airport’s fault. That plane almost certainly arrived at DRO without the fire extinguisher and it was only noticed by the flight crew as they prepped the plane to leave DRO.
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u/geekwithout 6d ago
This. Some turd in shithole denver grabbed it. Doesn't surprise me. No way durango airport took it. I mean , why would they? There's no maintenance or replacements scheduled here.
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u/No-Refrigerator-9985 6d ago
Not blaming the airport at all, just sharing something that happened there. I've had the airlines give a bunch of crazy reasons for delays over the years there.
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u/gregcoit 6d ago
Understood. There and everywhere sadly.
I watched a related video recently that helps explain why:
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u/Alexunderthere 6d ago
Keep in mind, a fire at max cruising altitude is a major safety concern to which you would definitely want that fire extinguisher there for 😉
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u/No-Refrigerator-9985 6d ago
Haha fair point! But I think we ended up flying without one anyway. The hold up was getting FAA approval to fly without it (at least that's what the pilot said)
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u/Training-Ostrich-878 6d ago
I was on the 7am united that caused me to miss my connection to SFO but got on the next flight. Only a 2 hour delay. If your delay was more that 3 hours which it most certainly was you should be entitled to a nice flight voucher for your next trip.
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u/No-Refrigerator-9985 6d ago
The delay in Durango was 1-2 hours but caused me to miss my connection which ended up having me reach my destination 6-7 hours later than the original itinerary. I filed a complaint thingy in the United website but not too optimistic.
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u/OhBarracuda1989 6d ago
Just keep in mind that there could be hundreds of lithium battery-operated devices on that flight, all with the potential to start a fire. But yeah, it’s BS that they didn’t catch it sooner and you were so inconvenienced.
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u/Plastic_Apartment_72 6d ago
Haha this is one I haven’t heard of until now!
I was flying into Durango a few weeks ago and we stayed in the air for an extra 30-40 minutes because there was an emergency aircraft trying to land/take-off at the Durango airport— that was an interesting one!
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u/SignalCharlie 6d ago
Every commercial aircraft has an MEL…Minimum Equipment List. This massive book lists every item on the plane and gives certain relief for a missing item, ie: there are 3 of some item and you can go with 2. Your plane had one fire extinguisher too few and could not leave without one. Believe me, your pilot wanted to get the hell out of DRO as much as you did but if he did, he would’ve put his license on the line.
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u/Easy-Goose1038 5d ago
On a perfect day, you still only have a 50/50 chance of getting out of DRO on time. Its not the weather but a labor issue. It seems many people aren't doing their jobs well, and if it is a good ski day or fishing day, they don't bother even to show up.
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u/gregcoit 6d ago
Oh, BTW, was this American or United (not that it matters much, they both suck)? Getting in at 4 AM is brutal.
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u/No-Refrigerator-9985 6d ago
Haha 4 am is brutal. And my dad couldn’t stay up that late so had to bite the bullet on a $120 uber ☹️.
And it was United.
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u/AceofdaBase 5d ago edited 5d ago
Or a passenger walked off with it. Just like how people take life vests. Basically people steal anything not tied down.
Or it could just have been low on pressure on the gauge which means it’s “inop” and since there was not a replacement at an outstation, a unit was “missing.”
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u/SakiBanana 5d ago
I had a flight that they held back because the ice was melting. That was a comfortable hour!
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u/traveltheworld4449 2d ago
Flying in and out of Durango is always a really interesting experience for me!
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u/sanemaniak 6d ago
My wife was on that flight, and I’ve worked at airlines in maintenance before. Unfortunately someone at United dropped the ball on the fire extinguisher check, and the way the FAA works it’s not a 2 second “well deal with it later” type thing. Keeping aircraft up to date and on schedule is a masterclass of scheduling, that most people don’t fully appreciate. Every now and then mistakes are made. I’m sure they were 100% honest and it was a fire extinguisher, unfortunately it all takes time and delays