Flying the Unfriendly Skies

[keith]

That's weird.

When I've got that seat (and I love to have that seat) when the stew comes to give me the spiel they offer to move me to another seat if I'm not willing or able to do the job.

Did they offer and she refused to move?

Some peoples children, I dunno.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... ore-flight

A British passenger has died and seven people have been critically injured after a flight from London to Singapore was hit by turbulence.

Passengers onboard the Singapore Airlines plane told of a “dramatic drop” that launched those not wearing a seatbelt into the cabin ceiling.

The airline said the Boeing 777 carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members encountered severe turbulence on its way from Heathrow. The aircraft was diverted to Bangkok, where it landed at 3.45pm local time (0945 BST) on Tuesday.

According to Thai authorities, the passenger who died had a heart condition and probably suffered a heart attack. He was 73 and travelling with his wife.

[raison de arizona]

Nice of @Delta to handle our clubs with such care…

[RTH10260]

Hailstorm causes major damage to nose, cockpit windows of Austrian Airlines plane
"We could definitely feel the hail coming down on the plane," a passenger said.

ByAyesha Ali and Kerem Inal
June 10, 2024, 1:07 AM

An Austrian Airlines flight suffered significant damage from hail, which took off part of the airplane's nose on Sunday, the airline said.

Flight OS434 was flying from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to Vienna, Austria, when it hit a "thunderstorm cell," Austrian Airlines said in a statement to ABC News. The hail caused damage to the cockpit windows, some coverings and the nose, which photos showed appeared to have broken off.

"I think we were about 20 minutes from landing when we got into a cloud of hail and thunderstorm, and the turbulence started," Emmeley Oakley, a passenger on the flight, told ABC News via text message.

Oakley said that inside the cabin, they could hear the hail as it hit their aircraft.

"We could definitely feel the hail coming down on the plane and it was quite loud and ofc super rocky for a minute," Oakley wrote.

As the plane -- an Airbus A320 -- was going through the severe weather patch, which the airline said was not visible on the radar to the cockpit crew, a Mayday call was made due to the damage.

Oakley estimated the plane took about two minutes or less to fly through the hailstorm, which caused "phones and cups" to fly around the plane.

Some people screamed, Oakley said, and the flight attendants stepped in to help.

"The cabin crew did a really good job calming those people down though," Oakley wrote.

Despite the rocky final leg, the plane landed safely at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, with no passengers harmed, Austrian Airlines said.



https://abcnews.go.com/International/ha ... rian/story

[RTH10260]

Texas woman sued by the FAA for 2021 incident on airplane

CBS Austin
19 Jun 2024

A San Antonio woman is being sued by the FAA for a record fine of nearly $82,000.

The lawsuit comes three years after Heather Wells was duct-taped to her airplane seat by the flight crew.

[neonzx]

Delta flight to Amsterdam diverted over spoiled food, 12 passengers evaluated

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/a ... 288805007/

A Delta Air Lines flight heading to Amsterdam made an emergency landing in New York City after reports that some of the in-flight meals were spoiled.

The 277 passengers on board Delta flight 136 heading from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Amsterdam Tuesday night were diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport after it was discovered that a portion of the main cabin in-flight meals were spoiled.

After reports of the spoiled food were made, Delta consulted with medial experts who recommended the flight's diversion to New York.

It is unknown how many people consumed the spoiled food, but medics met the plane as it landed in New York around 4 a.m. Wednesday, and 12 passengers were evaluated, but refused medical attention or transportation to the hospital, the Fire Department of New York told USA TODAY.

[AndyinPA]

I was just on that flight in May.

I was in business class so probably was not served the same food, though, but ugh.

[neonzx]

Delta flights serving pasta-only meals after ‘spoiled’ food disaster

https://nypost.com/2024/07/04/lifestyle ... -disaster/

Talk about a plain meal.

After “spoiled” meals on a Delta Airlines flight forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing at JFK International Airport on Wednesday, the carrier is sticking to pasta only for many of its international flights, CNBC reported.

An estimated 70 people on the trip from Detroit to Amsterdam fell ill from the tainted food, which contained black mold , sources told The Post.

The Delta route had a flight last winter during which maggots shockingly fell onto passengers.

In the wake of this week’s gag-worthy incident, about 75 international flights on Wednesday and a similar number on Thursday were served only the Italian favorite.

“Out of an abundance of caution, Delta teams have proactively adjusted our in-flight meal service on a number of international flights,” a company spokeswoman told CNBC.

[RTH10260]

Did Mar-a-Lago switch to airline catering services

[RTH10260]

United Airlines flight loses wheel during take-off in Los Angeles
The airline said there were no injuries and it was investigating the cause of the incident, after the flight landed safely at its destination in Denver

Guardian staff and agencies
Tue 9 Jul 2024 04.52 CEST

A United Airlines jet lost a landing-gear wheel during take off from Los Angeles, but was able to land safely in Denver, its planned destination, with no injuries, the airline said.

“The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,” United said in a statement on Monday. It was the second such incident for the airline this year.

The aircraft involved in Monday’s incident was a nearly 30-year-old Boeing 757-200, according to FlightRadar24 data, which was carrying 174 passengers and 7 crew members. Boeing ended production of the 757 in 2004.

In March, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 jet headed for Japan lost a tire mid-air after takeoff from San Francisco, landing safely at Los Angeles International Airport.



https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... l-take-off

[tek]

chatter from that latest United loose wheel:

[Maybenaut]

That graphic is misleading. The other aircraft said “we saw it flying past our nose.”

[Sam the Centipede]

That graphic is misleading. The other aircraft said “we saw it flying past our nose.”

Gotta get those clicks!!!

[Estiveo]

This is becoming a thing with United. One of their jets lost a wheel on takeoff at SFO back in March; it caused a little damage in an employee parking lot.

ap24067838943384.jpg (100.02 KiB) Viewed 709 times

[Maybenaut]

I listened to that audio - sounds to me like they had more than one problem. When they were notified by the ground that they had lost a tire, the pilot said they were trying to figure out which one they lost because the pressure gauges on all the wheels were normal.

I don’t know how any of this works, but it seems to me that in a properly designed system, if a wheel falls off an airplane, the tire pressure gauge ought to show zero psi.

[Sam the Centipede]

I listened to that audio - sounds to me like they had more than one problem. When they were notified by the ground that they had lost a tire, the pilot said they were trying to figure out which one they lost because the pressure gauges on all the wheels were normal.

I don’t know how any of this works, but it seems to me that in a properly designed system, if a wheel falls off an airplane, the tire pressure gauge ought to show zero psi.

Did they say that? Only asking because I didn't notice, but I did hear them say that hydraulic pressures were normal.

Errors and Omissions Excepted.

[Maybenaut]

you’re right. They said “hydraulic pressure and everything is showing good.“ Still, you would think that there would be a sensor on the plane that would tell the cabin that they had actually lost a wheel.

[neonzx]

Still surprised they (air traffic controllers) didn't order them to return to LAX.

[northland10]

Still surprised they (air traffic controllers) didn't order them to return to LAX.

They would have had to spend a great deal of time burning fuel. I imagine they would want to lighten the load as much as possible in order to land with weakened gear. Also, a less crowded airport and area is likely preferred as well.

[Frater I*I]

I don’t know how any of this works, but it seems to me that in a properly designed system, if a wheel falls off an airplane, the tire pressure gauge ought to show zero psi.

I know you've already posted a follow up, but no there is nothing in the fight deck to show tire pressure. It's up to the line maintenance crew to insure that the tires are in the proper PSI range before dispatch, and note it in the aircraft log book.

[chancery]

Continuous monitoring of tire pressure is, well, I guess it's been figured out, new cars have them and military vehicles have had them for a while. But considering that tires can be checked before takeoff, they aren't under stress during the flight, and there is a certain amount of redundancy in the landing gear, I wonder how strong the engineering case would be for requiring such a system on passenger jets.

Disclaimer: not an engineer, and in fact don't even know much of anything about fixing cars.

***
I wrote this and queued it up before reading Frater's post, and it's gratifying that I'm not completely off base.

[Maybenaut]

I wonder if the change in altitude has any effect on tire pressure.

[much ado]

I wonder if the change in altitude has any effect on tire pressure.

It certainly would.

[Frater I*I]

I wonder if the change in altitude has any effect on tire pressure.

Very minor if any. Any aircraft that flies at an altitude that can cause icing the tires are filled with dry nitrogen. As an inert gas it takes a serious swing of temperature changes for it's pressures to change in any serious manner.

[Maybenaut]

I wonder if the change in altitude has any effect on tire pressure.

Very minor if any. Any aircraft that flies at an altitude that can cause icing the tires are filled with dry nitrogen. As an inert gas it takes a serious swing of temperature changes for it's pressures to change in any serious manner.

Thanks! I love this place - we learn so much here!