Passengers trapped overnight on plane
- Thread starter Vassili Zaitzev
- Start date
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RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
Yep. I just can't wait to see the lawsuits that come out of this one. Pain-and-suffering, Emotional Trauma, etc etc.
Love how the airlines blamed the airport, and the airport blamed the airlines...amazing, isn't it, how its always somebody else's fault?
Love how the airlines blamed the airport, and the airport blamed the airlines...amazing, isn't it, how its always somebody else's fault?
Love to see the Airlines get it stuck to them. Been my experience that the lower level people are generally ok but once they move up the management levels, they become complete and total assholes. Only industry I know of where the customers absolutely hate the company but can do nothing about it.
Hope they sue the living hell out of them.
Hope they sue the living hell out of them.
Bucksnort101
2nd Lieutenant
I would have been dialing 911 to report I was being held hostage by the airlines!!! If that didn't work I'd yell "Snakes, on the plane" and watch everyone scream towards the exits!!!
I wouldn't blame anyone for filing a lawsuit for this, beyond rediculous to be held on a place for 6 hours. The storms that moved through the Twin Cities this past Satuday (I live in the Northern Suburbs of Mpls) were pretty fast moving and were out of the Twin Cities area within an hour or so and were 15-20 miles North of the Mpls. airport. I don't even think they got any rain in the South metro?
I wouldn't blame anyone for filing a lawsuit for this, beyond rediculous to be held on a place for 6 hours. The storms that moved through the Twin Cities this past Satuday (I live in the Northern Suburbs of Mpls) were pretty fast moving and were out of the Twin Cities area within an hour or so and were 15-20 miles North of the Mpls. airport. I don't even think they got any rain in the South metro?
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Good point. Would that be considered kidnapping? At what point do you stop becoming a customer and start becoming a hostage?
Interesting point.
beaupower32
Tech Sergeant
Was watching the news the other day and they said if something like that happens to you, tell them you are sick. then it becomes a liability issu and they have to get you off the plane for the well being of the other people. But then again, who knows. May be they are throwing BS out there to make people feel better.
RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
Yes...but when they find out you're NOT....could they hit you for filing a false report? I know the 911 guys would be all over you for that...
beaupower32
Tech Sergeant
Im not saying so much as to call 911, but just tell one of the attendents that your sick, and I guess they are supposed to get you off the plane. Again, thats what I saw on the news, but you all know how the news is with BS stuff.
RabidAlien
1st Lieutenant
Heh. You mean, like, they're smeared in it?
Sounds to me like a VERY serious case of miscommunication....I'm assuming that it wasn't petty "I don't like your airline so I'm not letting your passengers off--well I don't like your airport so I'm not letting my passengers off" BS. Cuz heads would need to roll in that case. Roll. Then get whacked by sledgehammers. Then shot with .50-cals.
Sounds to me like a VERY serious case of miscommunication....I'm assuming that it wasn't petty "I don't like your airline so I'm not letting your passengers off--well I don't like your airport so I'm not letting my passengers off" BS. Cuz heads would need to roll in that case. Roll. Then get whacked by sledgehammers. Then shot with .50-cals.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
That would have stunk to have been a smoker.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
There's no way I would have sat there that long.
Had it been me, I'd have called information for the local news station and told them what's going on. As much as I hate the media, I would make them work for me for a change.
Had it been me, I'd have called information for the local news station and told them what's going on. As much as I hate the media, I would make them work for me for a change.
drgondog
Major
who knows what the real story is.
He could have lost his IFR clearance and the gates behind him could have filled up so no recourse may have been available. ATC could have had him on imminent hold and another unforeseen front could have cut him off.. a long line of thunderstorms could have been between him and destination...
It would suck if the pilot had a choice to taxi back and deplane until he got his clearance.
He could have lost his IFR clearance and the gates behind him could have filled up so no recourse may have been available. ATC could have had him on imminent hold and another unforeseen front could have cut him off.. a long line of thunderstorms could have been between him and destination...
It would suck if the pilot had a choice to taxi back and deplane until he got his clearance.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Well it's official: "Feds: Regional carrier, not crew, at fault in plane's tarmac stranding"
Feds: Regional carrier, not crew, at fault in plane's tarmac stranding - CNN.com
(CNN) -- -- A poor decision by a regional airline was being blamed Friday for Continental Airlinespassengers getting stranded overnight as their plane sat on a tarmac in Minnesota, federal transportation officials said Friday.
Passengers on a Continental flight operated by ExpressJet sat on the tarmac for nearly six hours on August 8.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said a representative of Mesaba Airlines improperly refused requests by the plane's captain and crew to let passengers off the plane. They were stuck on the tarmac in Rochester on August 8 from 12:38 a.m. to about 6 a.m. with nothing but pretzels to eat, LaHood said.
"There was a complete lack of common sense here," LaHood said in a written statement. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated."
Mesaba, based in Eagan, Minnesota and owned by Delta Air Lines, was the only carrier able to assist Continental Flight 2816, which was on its way from Houston, Texas, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, when it was diverted because of strong thunderstorms, LaHood said. Watch how pilot tried to get passengers off plane »
The flight's 47 passengers described crying babies, overflowing toilets and cramped conditions.
According to a Department of Transportation preliminary report, Mesaba's representative refused to help passengers off of the plane, incorrectly saying the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons.
In audiotapes released by the Transportation Department, the unnamed captain of the aircraft can be heard pleading with an airline dispatcher to find a way to get the passengers off the plane.
"We're stuck here with no lavs, no nothing -- no food," he says. "And they won't let them get off because the terminal is closed."
Later, the dispatcher tells the captain that he has spoken to the commuter airline's representative and that "she says there is nothing she can do to help us out. She's not going to let them off the plane."
"That's ridiculous," the captain responds.
LaHood, who called the incident a "nightmare," said federal regulations allow passengers to get off of a plane, enter an airport and reboard without being screened by safety personnel as long as they remain in a secure part of the terminal.
Mesaba said Friday that its employees tried to help.
"Mesaba respectfully disagrees with the DOT's preliminary findings as they are incongruent with our initial internal review of the incident," CEO John Spanjers said in a written statement. "Because Continental Express Flight 2816 diverted to an airport where they have no ground handling service, Mesaba offered assistance as a courtesy during this delay.
"While the investigation is ongoing, Mesaba is fully cooperating with the Department of Transportation and looks forward to the final report."
Mesaba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson said the airline is working with Mesaba, Continental and the Department of Transportation to help determine exactly what happened.
In the department's statement, LaHood said that the Continental crew was not at fault for the passengers being stuck.
"In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them," he said.
Department of Transportation investigators have interviewed passengers, the flight crew, airport workers and others during an investigation expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The department "is considering the appropriate action to take against Mesaba," according to the statement.
The investigation did show that while the crew of the flight, operated by carrier ExpressJet, did all it could, higher-level officials should have become involved in the effort.
The Aviation Enforcement Office has proposed regulations requiring airlines to have plans for how to handle lengthy tarmac delays.
Feds: Regional carrier, not crew, at fault in plane's tarmac stranding - CNN.com
(CNN) -- -- A poor decision by a regional airline was being blamed Friday for Continental Airlinespassengers getting stranded overnight as their plane sat on a tarmac in Minnesota, federal transportation officials said Friday.
Passengers on a Continental flight operated by ExpressJet sat on the tarmac for nearly six hours on August 8.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said a representative of Mesaba Airlines improperly refused requests by the plane's captain and crew to let passengers off the plane. They were stuck on the tarmac in Rochester on August 8 from 12:38 a.m. to about 6 a.m. with nothing but pretzels to eat, LaHood said.
"There was a complete lack of common sense here," LaHood said in a written statement. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated."
Mesaba, based in Eagan, Minnesota and owned by Delta Air Lines, was the only carrier able to assist Continental Flight 2816, which was on its way from Houston, Texas, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, when it was diverted because of strong thunderstorms, LaHood said. Watch how pilot tried to get passengers off plane »
The flight's 47 passengers described crying babies, overflowing toilets and cramped conditions.
According to a Department of Transportation preliminary report, Mesaba's representative refused to help passengers off of the plane, incorrectly saying the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons.
In audiotapes released by the Transportation Department, the unnamed captain of the aircraft can be heard pleading with an airline dispatcher to find a way to get the passengers off the plane.
"We're stuck here with no lavs, no nothing -- no food," he says. "And they won't let them get off because the terminal is closed."
Later, the dispatcher tells the captain that he has spoken to the commuter airline's representative and that "she says there is nothing she can do to help us out. She's not going to let them off the plane."
"That's ridiculous," the captain responds.
LaHood, who called the incident a "nightmare," said federal regulations allow passengers to get off of a plane, enter an airport and reboard without being screened by safety personnel as long as they remain in a secure part of the terminal.
Mesaba said Friday that its employees tried to help.
"Mesaba respectfully disagrees with the DOT's preliminary findings as they are incongruent with our initial internal review of the incident," CEO John Spanjers said in a written statement. "Because Continental Express Flight 2816 diverted to an airport where they have no ground handling service, Mesaba offered assistance as a courtesy during this delay.
"While the investigation is ongoing, Mesaba is fully cooperating with the Department of Transportation and looks forward to the final report."
Mesaba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson said the airline is working with Mesaba, Continental and the Department of Transportation to help determine exactly what happened.
In the department's statement, LaHood said that the Continental crew was not at fault for the passengers being stuck.
"In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them," he said.
Department of Transportation investigators have interviewed passengers, the flight crew, airport workers and others during an investigation expected to be completed in the next few weeks.
The department "is considering the appropriate action to take against Mesaba," according to the statement.
The investigation did show that while the crew of the flight, operated by carrier ExpressJet, did all it could, higher-level officials should have become involved in the effort.
The Aviation Enforcement Office has proposed regulations requiring airlines to have plans for how to handle lengthy tarmac delays.
B-17engineer
Colonel
Well that's no fun!
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
"11 hours in a tin can, God, theres got to be a better way!"
proton45
Senior Airman
god, what a nightmare...
