Published: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.

Thursday's flight was scheduled to last about five hours, ferrying 182 sun-tanned vacationers from the Dominican Republican to Montreal.  But one passenger's mid-air medical misfortune forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Wilmington, transforming a routine trip into a daylong ordeal. 

On Friday, crowds of French-speaking sojourners packed the lobby of the Wilmington International Airport, eating off a pizza buffet, lounging on wooden benches and, as a few more energized ones did, doing push-ups in the grass outside.  Their plane was scheduled to resume its trip early that evening. 

Their odyssey illustrates the unpredictable bumps that sometimes arise during long-distance travel, the kind of hiccups that may be frustrating at first but later become interesting anecdotes to liven up the story.  That point was evident in Friday's atmosphere, with many passengers upbeat despite the inconvenience. " Everybody's happy.  We're still on vacation.  It's only Friday," exclaimed Allen LaVoie, 58, whose plane ticket stuck out of his shirt pocket. 

For many of the Canadians who unwittingly found themselves here, the journey began with a Thursday afternoon flight from the storied Caribbean island of St. Martin to a stopover in Punta Cana, a resort-heavy tourist destination on the Dominican Republic's eastern coast.  From there, the travelers took off about 2 p.m. in a Sunwing Airlines 737 headed for Montreal. 

Midway through the trip, one passenger had a medical emergency that many initially thought to be a heart attack or stroke.  Witnesses said a doctor who happened to be aboard tended to the sick man, even applying an oxygen mask.  At some point, the decision was made to land the plane to get the patient proper medical attention.  Wilmington happened to be the best option. 

The plane touched down on a runway at ILM about 6:37 p.m., and the ill passenger was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, said Gary Broughton, the airport's operations manager. 

The episode offers a lesson in aviation mechanics.  Because the 737 landed ahead of schedule, it was heavy with fuel.  When that happens, a mechanic must inspect the aircraft to ensure it did not suffer damage during the so-called "overweight landing," Broughton said. 

The closest mechanic capable of servicing such a behemoth was stationed in Atlanta, and thus had to fly out of the Peach State to meet the 737 in Wilmington.  He arrived on Friday, and gave the plane an all-clear. 

Another factor delaying take-off was a tired crew that had been on duty too long and needed to rest before getting back behind the controls, Broughton said. 

For passengers, the wait meant an overnight stay in Wilmington.  From the airport they were bused to local hotels.  For some, it was their first time in the Port City. 

"We really like the town.  I went to the Waffle House and it was funny," said Louis Lemieux, 39, adding that there were "many people in many restaurants late at night.  It was very nice and I'd like to visit more." 

"Not that bad," replied Kim Dagenais, 31, when asked about her experience. " At least it's on the way back and not on the way there." 

Many expressed appreciation for the airport's hospitality, bringing in chairs and benches to accommodate everyone while they waited and providing pizza and soda. 

But some really needed to get home.  Alex Naud, 24, who described the episode as "memorable," smiled as he recounted how he was supposed to have been at work at 5 a.m. Friday. " I sent an email to" my boss, he said. 

As for the one passenger who wound up in the hospital, he turned out to be OK and was back at the airport Friday, waiting among the others to finish the journey. 

<p>Thursday's flight was scheduled to last about five hours, ferrying 182 sun-tanned vacationers from the Dominican Republican to Montreal.  But one passenger's mid-air medical misfortune forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Wilmington, transforming a routine trip into a daylong ordeal.  </p><p>On Friday, crowds of French-speaking sojourners packed the lobby of the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/TOPIC9917"><b>Wilmington International Airport</b></a>, eating off a pizza buffet, lounging on wooden benches and, as a few more energized ones did, doing push-ups in the grass outside.  Their plane was scheduled to resume its trip early that evening.  </p><p>Their odyssey illustrates the unpredictable bumps that sometimes arise during long-distance travel, the kind of hiccups that may be frustrating at first but later become interesting anecdotes to liven up the story.  That point was evident in Friday's atmosphere, with many passengers upbeat despite the inconvenience. " Everybody's happy.  We're still on vacation.  It's only Friday," exclaimed Allen LaVoie, 58, whose plane ticket stuck out of his shirt pocket.</p><p>For many of the Canadians who unwittingly found themselves here, the journey began with a Thursday afternoon flight from the storied Caribbean island of St. Martin to a stopover in Punta Cana, a resort-heavy tourist destination on the Dominican Republic's eastern coast.  From there, the travelers took off about 2 p.m. in a Sunwing Airlines 737 headed for Montreal.  </p><p>Midway through the trip, one passenger had a medical emergency that many initially thought to be a heart attack or stroke.  Witnesses said a doctor who happened to be aboard tended to the sick man, even applying an oxygen mask.  At some point, the decision was made to land the plane to get the patient proper medical attention.  Wilmington happened to be the best option.  </p><p>The plane touched down on a runway at ILM about 6:37 p.m., and the ill passenger was taken to <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9969"><b>New Hanover Regional Medical Center</b></a>, said Gary Broughton, the airport's operations manager.  </p><p>The episode offers a lesson in aviation mechanics.  Because the 737 landed ahead of schedule, it was heavy with fuel.  When that happens, a mechanic must inspect the aircraft to ensure it did not suffer damage during the so-called "overweight landing," Broughton said.  </p><p>The closest mechanic capable of servicing such a behemoth was stationed in Atlanta, and thus had to fly out of the Peach State to meet the 737 in Wilmington.  He arrived on Friday, and gave the plane an all-clear.  </p><p>Another factor delaying take-off was a tired crew that had been on duty too long and needed to rest before getting back behind the controls, Broughton said.  </p><p>For passengers, the wait meant an overnight stay in Wilmington.  From the airport they were bused to local hotels.  For some, it was their first time in the Port City.  </p><p>"We really like the town.  I went to the Waffle House and it was funny," said Louis Lemieux, 39, adding that there were "many people in many restaurants late at night.  It was very nice and I'd like to visit more."  </p><p>"Not that bad," replied Kim Dagenais, 31, when asked about her experience. " At least it's on the way back and not on the way there."  </p><p>Many expressed appreciation for the airport's hospitality, bringing in chairs and benches to accommodate everyone while they waited and providing pizza and soda.  </p><p>But some really needed to get home.  Alex Naud, 24, who described the episode as "memorable," smiled as he recounted how he was supposed to have been at work at 5 a.m. Friday. " I sent an email to" my boss, he said.  </p><p>As for the one passenger who wound up in the hospital, he turned out to be OK and was back at the airport Friday, waiting among the others to finish the journey.  </p><p><i></p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9904"><b>Brian Freskos</b></a>: 343-2327</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @BrianFreskos</i></p>