10月2日，搭乘联合航空从华盛顿特区飞往罗马的乘客们经历了一场煎熬的漫漫长夜：他们等待了近12个小时才得以起飞，结果航班却在离地前被航空公司取消。
Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Rome on Oct. 2 faced a grueling overnight ordeal as they waited nearly 12 hours to take off — only to have the airline cancel the flight before it left the ground.
据“The Aviation Hub”博客报道，联合航空884号航班原定于10月2日下午5点35分从华盛顿杜勒斯国际机场起飞，计划连夜飞抵罗马菲乌米奇诺机场。
United Airlines Flight 884 was scheduled to depart Washington Dulles International Airport at 5:35 p.m. on Oct. 2 for an overnight trip to Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
然而，一系列接连发生的问题导致航班延误：驾驶舱出现故障、遭遇强雷暴天气，机组人员也发生了变动。
Instead, passengers were grounded by a cascading series of issues, including a cockpit malfunction, severe thunderstorms and crew changes, "The Aviation Hub" blog reported.
联合航空在给福克斯新闻数码频道的声明中称：“由于天气原因，原定从华盛顿杜勒斯飞往罗马的884号航班在滑行途中返回登机口以加注更多燃油，以满足更长航程的需求。”
'WE NEED TO RETURN IMMEDIATELY,' FLIGHT CREW WARNS AS PILOT HEALTH EMERGENCY UNFOLDS "United flight 884 from Washington Dulles to Rome returned to the gate after taxiing to take on additional fuel for a longer planned flight due to weather," United Airlines told Fox News Digital in a statement.
声明还提到：“在此期间，航空公司安排了新机组人员，并解决了出现的维修问题。飞机随后再次离开登机口，但又需要进行一次机械检查。”
"During this time, a new crew was brought in and a maintenance issue that arose was resolved. The aircraft then pushed back from the gate, but then required another mechanical inspection," the airline's statement continued.
“最终，由于机组人员的法定执勤时间已到，该航班被迫取消。我们已为乘客重新安排了周六晚间起飞的航班。”
"The flight was then canceled due to crew time limits. We rebooked customers on an extra flight that departed on Saturday evening," the statement concluded.
据航空博客“Simple Flying”分析，机门密封件故障以及飞机拖车操作失误可能也是导致延误的因素之一。
A faulty door seal and mishap with the plane's pushback tug likely also played a part in the delays, according to the "Simple Flying" aviation blog.
不过，问题并未就此结束。据《Men’s Journal》报道，次日凌晨4点左右航班被取消时，部分乘客已经等待了整整12个小时。
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES The problems weren't over, however. When the flight was canceled at around 4.a.m. the following morning, some of the travelers had been facing delays for 12 hours, Men's Journal noted.
在出现技术故障后，当地又遭遇了雷暴天气。多份报道显示，这架波音777-200ER客机一度停在跑道上等待起飞，约三小时后才返回登机口加油。
Then, after technical issues, there were thunderstorms. The plane sat on the tarmac, waiting to depart. The Boeing 777-200ER returned to the gate around three hours later to refuel, according to several reports.
最终，由于最初的机组人员在经历6小时延误后已超出法定执勤时限，乘客们不得不全部下机。
Ultimately, the passengers had to exit the aircraft because the first crew reached its legal duty-time limit after a six-hour delay.
新机组人员接手后，但由于接连出现机械故障，所有乘客不得不再次下机，最终航班也被取消。
A new crew started, but subsequent mechanical issues forced everyone to deplane a second time before the flight was finally canceled.
受影响的乘客最终被重新安排搭乘另一趟航班。该航班于周六晚上7点前从杜勒斯机场起飞，使得乘客们比原定计划晚了25个多小时才踏上前往罗马的旅程。
The affected passengers were finally rebooked on another flight that took off from Dulles just before 7 p.m. on Saturday, putting them en route to Rome over 25 hours later than originally planned. A frustrated passenger vented in the United Airlines MileagePlus Experts group on "I’m surprised there hasn’t been a mutiny," wrote the passenger, who was on the flight.
一位心情烦躁的乘客在联合航空MileagePlus Experts群组中发帖抱怨道：“真奇怪居然还没发生骚乱。”这位乘客当时就在那趟航班上。
"You should be eligible for compensation if you have a traveler's credit card. These things happen. That's why there's insurance," another Facebook user responded. Not everyone was sympathetic. "I fly a lot also.
另一位脸书用户回复道：“如果你持有旅行信用卡，理应有权获得赔偿。这种状况时有发生，所以才有保险。”不过并非所有人都表示同情。
If you can’t handle the problems, you have three choices. Fly private, fly a different [airline], don’t fly.
这位脸书用户说道：“我也经常坐飞机。如果无法接受这些突发状况，你有三个选择：包机、换一家航空公司，或者干脆不坐飞机。我乘坐联合航空的航班已有43年了，有顺境也有逆境，要么接受，要么另作选择。”
I have been flying for 43 years with United. There are ups and downs, live with them or move on," the Facebook user said.
还有一位联合航空的常旅客表示：“你提到的多数问题都是用血的教训换来的规定……为了安全起见，我宁愿不必重新学习这些规则。”
Yet another United flyer said, "Most of the issues you point out are regulations written in blood. … I’d rather not have to relearn them at the risk of safety."