Mesa slides off the taxiway in DSM

[CFI2766]

From the article:

--Johnson said ice on the windows of the aircraft prevented the passengers from seeing outside, but as it slid off the runway, lights remained on and there was no panic among the people on board.


If they were heading toward the runway, as in about to go fly, shouldn't they have deiced? I am going to assume that if there is ice on the windows, there definately would be ice on the airfoils. Is Mesa trying to save money by not deicing now?

Mesa sucks and slides.

 

[John Pennekamp]

I know! 250 hour pilots are equal to experienced 3000 hour pilots. Thanks for clearing that up!

WOW! Mesa has 250 hour captains? I had no idea it was that bad!

 

[ttuite]

From the article:

--Johnson said ice on the windows of the aircraft prevented the passengers from seeing outside, but as it slid off the runway, lights remained on and there was no panic among the people on board.


If they were heading toward the runway, as in about to go fly, shouldn't they have deiced? I am going to assume that if there is ice on the windows, there definately would be ice on the airfoils. Is Mesa trying to save money by not deicing now?

Mesa sucks and slides.

Are the pasenger windows a critical item for deicing? Are you telling me that if there was a very thin layer of snow on your aircraft that you would hose the entire aircraft down instead of just doing the critical surfaces? Do you do much deicing? Having worked at Mesa for 7 years I can tell you with absolute certainly that NOBODY has ever told a PIC not to de-ice an aircraft. They use the same standards as any other airline. While there, I was never even told how much it costs to de-ice. There is a very good reason for this. Mesa like other commuter's pass this cost on to the airline that they contract for. If you work for a commuter you should already know this. If I was the Captain and there was a thin layer of wind blown snow/ice on the passenger windows I would not de-ice the non critical surfaces not because it saves money but because it is very wasteful. That stuff cannot be good for the ground water and is petroleum based which comes with its own complications. Mesa may suck and suck bad but when it comes to safety I give them an A. There are PLENTY of things to pick at Mesa about. Sliding off a taxiway is not one of them. Just glad nobody was hurt.

 

[cargoflyr69]

Are the pasenger windows a critical item for deicing?

FWIW, At some airlines, such as NWA, de-icing is mandatory if ice/snow on the fuselage extends below the top line of the passenger windows.

NWA isn't perfect either, we've had our share of slips and slides in recent years. Lets just all be careful in the upper midwest this weekend!

 

[Hypoxik]

2 CRJ's slipped off in DSM; one Mesa and one PNCL.

 

[GOULET!]

2nd Mesa CRJ to go off the runway today. This time in MSN.

http://wkow.madison.com/News/index.php?ID=17042

Not a good day for Mesa...but then no day is a good day for Mesa.

 

[Soverytired]

I know! 250 hour pilots are equal to experienced 3000 hour pilots. Thanks for clearing that up!

"The jet's nose gear was just barely off the taxiway, airport authorities said"


Unless your 3000 hours of experience were on icy runways, I'd rethink that line of reasoning, sport.

My heart-stopping, nearly-slid-off-a taxi-way while exiting occurred around hour 6000 in the CRJ.


This kind of stuff can happen to anyone when the "fair" braking action is updated to "NIL" . . . based on YOUR Pirep!

 

[Tram]

I know! 250 hour pilots are equal to experienced 3000 hour pilots. Thanks for clearing that up!

You must be one of said 250 hour guys if you think 3000 hours is "experienced.."

 

[Occam's Razor]

Put two in the weeds within 24 hours and your POI gets a phone call from DC.

Which means the D.O. gets a call from the POI.

Anybody wanna guess what the Special Emphasis Items will be soon?

For extra credit, guess which 45-minute module in ART just went to 2-hours.

 

[A350]

For the record when it comes to deicing....do yourself a favor. De-ice the WHOLE aircraft and anti-ice the WHOLE thing if necessary. Anyone who flies a CRJ had better think twice before taking off with ice on the fuselage. If it comes off and hits those engines, it won't be pretty.

A350