Same thing happened at Hanksville, Utah, in the 1950s or 60s, except not because of pilot error. They had a strip there that was a designated emergency strip for the LA-Chicago route, and a plane (707, I think?) had to use it. And it landed OK. But, even once they got the plane fixed, taking off was problematic.
They bussed off the passengers (and luggage), took out the seats, put on enough fuel to reach Grand Junction, and managed to get it airborne.
This was a big enough deal in Hanksville that they closed school so that all the kids could come down and see the big plane.
Details are slightly unreliable - my parents told me about it when I was a kid; I have no independent information.
They bussed off the passengers (and luggage), took out the seats, put on enough fuel to reach Grand Junction, and managed to get it airborne.
This was a big enough deal in Hanksville that they closed school so that all the kids could come down and see the big plane.
Details are slightly unreliable - my parents told me about it when I was a kid; I have no independent information.