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Published Wednesday January 6th, 2010 in the Daily Gleaner
Quick stop | Airport welcomes Boeing 747-400 and its crew
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By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com
The arrival of a mammoth passenger plane drew plenty of interest at Fredericton International Airport on Tuesday.
The Boeing 747-400 is the largest passenger aircraft to land at the airport. It was transporting equipment and soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown to California.
More than 100 people turned out to see the plane land at the airport. Others parked on nearby roads to watch.
The 747-400 is so large that its six-storey-high tail fin was sticking up above the airport terminal.
And as they taxied the plane after landing, pilots in the upper deck kept centred by following an airport pickup truck that drove ahead of them in the middle of the tarmac.
Daniel Lutes, 13, of Fredericton was on hand as the plane arrived shortly before 11:30 a.m. - more than two hours later than expected.
He didn't want to miss the chance to see the giant of the skies up close.
"It looked kind of small when it was flying overhead, but when it landed I was surprised by the size," he said.
"It's the biggest (passenger) plane ever at this airport."
Lutes said he likes the ingenuity that goes into getting planes into the sky.
"I think they're pretty neat."
About 20 people who showed up at 9 a.m. to see the plane land were disappointed to learn the flight had been delayed.
The flight was initially cancelled early Tuesday morning before being rescheduled.
While it was listed as a Northwest Airlines flight, the plane carried Delta markings due to a recent corporate merger.
Fire trucks from Oromocto and CFB Gagetown fire departments were on standby at the airport due to the size of the 747.
Doug Parr was on hand shortly after 9 a.m. and returned again in time to see the plane land.
"I just came to see one of these big planes," he said, watching from a snowbank and videotaping it.
Inside the terminal, three young friends from Fredericton studied the aircraft.
They decided to catch a glimpse of the plane as part of their activities on the last day before school resumed.
Megan Brown, 7, Abby Cameron, 8, and Laura MacKinnon, 8, watched as the 747-400, with the stretched upper deck, was refuelled and loaded with equipment from a transport truck from CFB Gagetown.
"It's big," said Brown, while Cameron said the plane "is pretty cool."
MacKinnon said she would have liked to have seen the inside of it.
"It'd be pretty fun," she said.
Robert Hatheway, a local orthodontist who also operates Capital Airways, said it was wonderful to see the plane arrive.
"It's great the airport has the capability to handle the large aircraft."
Meanwhile, the plane's Detroit-based crew was surprised by the turnout.
Robert Hill, a flight attendant aboard the 747-400, said he didn't expect to see people gathered by the airport gates and lined up on the highway.
The Boeing 747-400 departed at 2:10 p.m., bound for Southern California Logistics Airport, a former air force base, in San Bernardino, Calif.
The soldiers from CFB Gagetown will be training in California for an upcoming tour of duty in Afghanistan.
More photos available at YFC Fredericton International Airport Facebook Page.
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