Standoff

Flying on Friday the thirteenth may not be the smartest thing to do, but with only two flights a week into Zihua this time of year we really had little choice. It may have explained why our flight was only two thirds full which was a very welcome change to what we normally encounter on this particular route. We, of course, arrived without any problems other than being almost an hour late due to the standoff on the taxiway behind us (shown here).

For some reason, the tow tractor went out on meet the incoming United airplane. Somehow, it shredded its rear tire (view in large to see the damage done) and couldn't perform its task, nor was the driver going to move it out of the way. Dozens of workers came by to see the stalemate, but no one made any move to fix it. I'm pretty sure a supervisor eventually arrived, because after about 45 minutes the tow tractor was driven very slowly off the taxiway. Operations quickly resumed and we were finally push back from the gate (presumably with a two tractor that had no flat tires).