Alaska Airlines Jet Makes Emergency Descent, 12 Inch Hole in Fuselage.

[FN FAL]

One of the passengers was a blogger who posted his account of the incident here:

http://jeremyhermanns.org/me/alaska-flight-536-rapid-de-pressurization-and-panic-at-30k-feet/

He took pictures with his cellphone.

Interestingly there were some very childish negative comments posted on this blog. The author says they are coming from IP addresses assigned to Alaska Airlines. If true, someone at Alaska is a pretty dim blub.

The pilots and flight crew did their job and got everyone on the ground as safe and as quickly as possible, as far as I can tell. And as someone has already posted, the pre-flight is completed before they pull the equipment away. So other than a change in policy, I don't know what more could be done by the flight crew.

However, I don't really get the comments on that blog that go something like, "Hey, you're still alive, suck it up!"

Nobody gets on airliner expecting fuselage sections to blow out because someone neglected to inform the operator that there was a collision between ground equipment and the aircraft.

I don't really see where the airline is liable for this, the contractor and the person that caused the damage are responsible. It could have all been prevented if the damage to the aircraft had been reported.

 

[Icelandair]

You get what you pay for. Alaska fired all of their union baggagemen and replaced them with the Menzies. Menzies had to hire hundreds of people overnight and throw them into service. Even the background checks were put on hold. Now gang graffiti appears in the baggage wells and incidents like this happen.

 

[FN FAL]

You get what you pay for.

If an employer bribes employee's with money, they should not commit crimes on the job?

 

[wms]

Any "criminal charges" against the crew that missed this gaping hole on the preflight? Or took off after being hit by a vehicle and not realizing it?

At DFW on the E120, we pulled into the gate for a quick-turn. As soon as the pax were off I ran in for the paper work and the FO did the walk-around immediately. After we got back on the plane they started loading the bags and when we got to AEX we found a hole in the fuselage on the walk-around there. I ended up doing the carpet dance for it. The only thing I did was my job the way it was supposed to be done. You get what you pay for, and then it gets expensive.

 

[smellthejeta]

Thank you fn fal, for your post, I was out all day and it was a good reading thread, Wow, that could have been more serious! Glad to know everyone was safe. Why didn't the ramp agent, just saying something right in the beginning?

Does anyone know if bags were lost? or any pets in the cargo affected by the stupidity of the ramp agent? Sounds like he/she is cooperating with the NTSB, good, I'm glad, but from turning the TV on, someone said ( a reporter) that he might be charged with a hit and run, or some other form of charge?

Glad to know it wasn't any worse! You never know if your loved on will be on the aircraft!

Hey babe... Working out on the ramp ain't the same as spilling a drink on the boss's shirt. When you pay guys next to nothing and don't give them union representation, they have absolutely NO incentive to fess up. Fessing up will probably cost them their job, so the theory is why bother telling about it if it will just get me fired. At least with a union you can go claim you "found" damage and the company will have a harder time dinging you for it.

 

[TurboS7]

Preflights on large aircraft are done usually 1 hour prior to departure. Our FOM requires us to be on the flight deck 20 minutes prior to pushback. A lot of stuff is going on outside the aircraft until the doors close. The problem with this issue comes from using a contractor vs. an employee. There is no doupt about it a professional ground handler working for an airline is ten times better than any contractor. We use them all and I can tell you I breath easier when we are using Delta vs. the local contractors. The pilots did their job perfectly, as did the backend crews and the airline.

 

[MissKittyKat]

smelljet (snoopy, cute avatar!) I agree with what the discussion reflects, but just possibly in the long run, the rampy would have actually been in a better position to report the hit, I'm sure it was caused without malice, if he was suspended afterward, may have been able to collect unemployment, and I'm sure would be able to find another job, within reasonable time of some sort, labor ready always has jobs. He was afraid to report it not good, if it were me, I would have reported it and therefore accepting responsibility of a mistake, I'm sure he had not willful and bad intentions to damage the plane, I for one don't like to see people out of work or make mistakes, but it happens.

IMHO, I just think he would have been in a much better position now, to report it, and not go through the headaches of what happened as a result, now the whole world knows what happened.

Chow, smile and have a great day.

 

[Hipster Loser]

Youre obviously from venus!

smelljet (snoopy, cute avatar!) I agree with what the discussion reflects, but just possibly in the long run, the rampy would have actually been in a better position to report the hit, I'm sure it was caused without malice, if he was suspended afterward, may have been able to collect unemployment, and I'm sure would be able to find another job, within reasonable time of some sort, labor ready always has jobs. He was afraid to report it not good, if it were me, I would have reported it and therefore accepting responsibility of a mistake, I'm sure he had not willful and bad intentions to damage the plane, I for one don't like to see people out of work or make mistakes, but it happens.

IMHO, I just think he would have been in a much better position now, to report it, and not go through the headaches of what happened as a result, now the whole world knows what happened.

Chow, smile and have a great day.

You're such a nurturing mother type. This post really sounds like it was written from a womans point of view.

Not saying theres anythign wrong with it. Justthat it deviates from most attitudes and tones found here.

Im all for baking some cookies for the poor rampy who didnt want to get in trouble for banging up the jet and putting lives in jepoardy.

Got any good cookie recipies MissKittyKat??

 

[FN FAL]

You're such a nurturing mother type. This post really sounds like it was written from a womans point of view.

Not saying theres anythign wrong with it. Justthat it deviates from most attitudes and tones found here.

Im all for baking some cookies for the poor rampy who didnt want to get in trouble for banging up the jet and putting lives in jepoardy.

Got any good cookie recipies MissKittyKat??

Dude...you must be new around here.

 

[Hipster Loser]

Dude...you must be new around here.

ahhhhh, now I see now that shes an FA. I suppose she should be nurturing for all of those cranky pax.

Im not tryign to be sexist or anything, just that its from a womans point of view. Strict father / nurturing mother.

George Lakoff a UC Berkeley Linguistics professor talks about this model (strict father/nurturing mother) in explaining politics. The conservative is the SF and the liberal the NM.

"Moral Politics" - G. Lakoff