COLD BAY, ALASKA — American Airlines representatives visited Cold Bay, Alaska, on Monday to thank the community for its support after a plane made an emergency landing there last month.
The thank you came after a flight from Shanghai, China, on its way to Chicago was forced to land there on Oct. 12, when an alert went off about a possible mechanical issue.
The pilots, passengers and flight crew were stranded in Cold Bay for hours while another plane came to retrieve them and carry them on to their final destination.
"Here we are today by invitation. We called and invited ourselves, but we said we're bringing dinner. And we're bring dinner for 100, so we're having leftovers," said Capt. Martin Reedy, who was the pilot on the flight.
American Airlines vice president Lorne Cass helped make the delivery and had nothing but praise for the community.
"I think that the people of Alaska are so in tuned with aviation that (with) these type of events ... (they) sort of take (it) in stride," Cass said. "They do everything they can to help out, and they are always looking to take care of people, and that's the important piece."
American Airlines said residents of the tiny Alaska town went out of their way to welcome the stranded passengers and crew.
Representatives from the airline brought turkey and fixings for all the residents to show their gratitude.
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