Arriving Home

Well, I did arrive home. It was well after I thought I would. The flight from Chicago was delayed originally because we were waiting for a flight crew to get in from Green Bay. That delay was enough that they announced our boarding about the time I should have been unlocking my door at home. Then came the real problem. Either the ground crew or the pilot erred. Either the gangway ramp wasn't retracted enough or the pilot wasn't paying attention. I only got the pilot's side and he blamed the ground crew, although that's probably the case since they give the ground crew those orange flashlights to direct the plane out. Anyway, no matter whose fault it was, the plane's wing was driven into the gangway ramp. I shit you not. I was in a plane crash on the ground. So, then we had to wait while "Aircraft Maintenance" showed up to see if we were flight worthy or needed to be moved to another plane. After much picture taking and animated discussion (my window overlooked the problem area), Maintenance said it was okay. At this point, most of the passengers were so tired of waiting, we were happy to take off in a possibly damaged aircraft. Since the pilot was going to actually be in the plane when it took off, he decided to take a look. I watched him poke and prod the wing. Then he disappeared for some time. I assumed he was at the bar, but apparently he went inside to give his side of the story to the boss before ground crew could. So, after a long wait in the plane, we took off to arrive in Lexington about three hours late. Needless to say, American Eagle through Chicago is not going to be my first choice the next time I fly.