DALLAS — Meadhbh Hamrick knew exactly how he wanted to experience the eclipse along the line of totality.
“A friend of mine and I constructed a solar telescope out of 3D printed parts, surplus lenses and PVC pipe,” he said.
Hamrick flew to Dallas, then on Monday they made the drive to West, Texas to take in the view.
“I'd never seen a total, and then totality occurred and then suddenly you could see the corona, and it was just amazing,” he said.
But the amazement from totality was soon overshadowed by a total travel mess when he got to DFW Airport on Tuesday to fly home to Seattle.
“I was scheduled to fly out at 2:00 and get over to the Alaska Gate and something's up because the flight’s not on the departure board,” he said. “Then I get a text saying ‘your flight has been delayed by five hours.’”
Then he got an email saying the flight was cancelled due to maintenance needed on the Boeing 737 jet and that he wouldn’t be able to get rebooked until Friday morning.
“Boeing very clearly has some issues; very clearly, corporate cultural issues about engineering culture versus financial culture that we hear about,” Hamrick said.
In an email to WFAA, Alaska Airlines did not comment on its ongoing issues with Boeing jets in its fleet. The air carrier wrote: “The aircraft operating on Flight 415 from Dallas Fort Worth to Seattle required maintenance to its parking brake while on the ground in Portland, which resulted in the flight's cancellation. All inspections have been completed and the aircraft has been returned to service. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our guests. Our team is working to get impacted travelers to their destinations as quickly as possible.”
“A number of us are at this hotel here in Arlington. I'm sure there are plenty of people scattered all over the Metroplex,” said Hamrick. ”I would much rather be here for three days than flying on a plane that’s going to fall out of the sky."
Hamrick’s travel woes come the same day the FAA began investigating claims from a Boeing whistleblower that the plane maker has been cutting corners with manufacturing of its Dreamliner jets.
But aviation expert and former commercial pilot Richard Levy says the issue on that particular Alaska Airlines flight, is likely just routine maintenance.
“I say this with unequivocally that a lot of what is gathering attention is not due to the MANUFACTURING of the airplane,” Levy said.
Still, passengers like Hamrick want the plane maker to restore their confidence. And has this message for the aircraft manufacturing.
“Can I cuss? Get your s**t in order,” Hamrick said.