Comair flight 5637, irate pax, watch the video

[mamba20]

I'm not going to play Monday morning QB and say what I think the crew SHOULD have done. I'm going to say what I would have done.

First off, what was this guy doing with access to the flight deck in the first place? That should have never taken place even if the engines were shut off on the ground. Who's to say he's not some psycopath like the guy on FEDEX a few years back?

Second, I would have calmy asked him to return to his seat and then retured to the gate and had him arrested for interfering with with a flight crew (a federal offense).

I think all of us should write letters and or emails to this guys company and explain to him that not only were his actions completely inappropriate, but also against the law.

 

[172driver]

They were at the gate and never left it. The flight deck door is closed when the main cabin door is closed which did not appear to be the case in the video.

What I would have done is:

1. Evaluate the cabin temp myself or by asking the FA. If it was truly uncomfortable, which I suspect it was, then...

2. Call the company and tell them the cabin is unacceptably hot, pax are suffering, come get them off. Let them know I will take further action if they don't cooperate.

3. Either declare an emergency and request medical assistance or resolve the situation on my own by deplaning the pax and leading them inside myself.

The CA stating that he has no power to do anything to fix the problem is obviously very weak. It is his airplane and he is responsible for the health, safety, and comfort of his pax. You have to do the right thing and deal with the consequences later.

Last summer I deadheaded from JFK-BOS on Comair on a similar night. We taxied for over five hrs because of the weather. It was hot, cramped, and miserable even with the APU operating, but at least it was safe. No APU in the CRJ equals no air at all. Not a safe condition with that many bodies on board.

If you folks don't step in and stop accepting situations like this, I assure you the government will by passing some kind of bill of rights. This will not be good for the airlines or your careers.

 

[Diesel]

And you wonder why the flying public absolutely hates flying on the airlines?

Lets ignore the guy with the camera for a second and look at the basics of no apu with a crowded plane and 4 hours swealtering. They actually had a pax puking because of the heat. You don't need to be a doctor to know that something is wrong with him.

Comments like who cares? Thats what you get for 100 dollar tickets. The customer service has been taken out of the 121 world. You have to remember that those in the back are the ones that enable there to be jobs in aviation. Its your choice whether to take that job or not.

Calling the cops on the guy is just a way not to deal with the real problem. The situation that the pax have been put into with no apu, no ac, and stuck on the ground for 4 hours.

What do you really expect?

 

[sqwkvfr]

This Captain did exactly what he should have....this passenger had no intention but to initiate an arguement, and the Captain handled it the only way he could have.

The only "weak" thing here is the lame-brains that would have "tough-guyed" themselves out of a job and onto the list of the top-ten idiots of the year after the press had a FIELD DAY with them.

 

[acaTerry]

Oh how I miss the old days....

 

[WalterSobchak]

This guy, David Ollila, is apparently the president of a "POV/Hidden Camera" company and is using this video as a sales tool on his website.

http://vio-pov.com/flight.php

Seems to me that he took a hot-button issue and used it to get a little free advertising for his product...shrewd marketing, really.

So, who wants to be the first to kick this guy off your aircraft (now that he's probably "no longer flying Delta")?

 

[skiandsurf]

After watching the video, I felt that the captain did a good job keeping his cool. I think he should have either gotten out of his seat, to show some authority.

But after reading that a kid had thrown up, I can see why this passenger was getting pissed.

Someone needs to stand up and be a Captain, not a pilot. MAKE something happen. Everyone is too afraid of getting in trouble, so they dont make any decisions on their own. Grow a pair.

 

[SKYW Pilot]

Flying without an APU or ground air during the frickin' summer time is unacceptable. TURN THE AIRPLANE DOWN!!! It's a safety risk. In this situation the Captain sure as heck could have done something. There's no excuse to keep passengers on an aircraft with no A/C for that long. If there was no one to escort these people inside, then declare an emergency. As a PIC, it's your responsiblity for the health and safety of your crew and passengers. That responsibility doesn't end on the ground with the engines shut down.

On another note, this idiot with the camera was just using the situation to sell his camera. Nothing more...

 

[HarryParatestes]

Delta's response

“Our focus is always the comfort and safety of our customers and we will continue to work to mitigate ongoing air traffic control-related congestion and delays,” said Joe Kolshak. EVP. Operations

I'm calling 1-800-BULL $H1T. Delta doesn't give a "Fat Baby's ass" about comfort. It is bottom dollar. Run cheap, pay cheaper, and give nothing away.

 

[DrewBlows]

Flying without an APU or ground air during the frickin' summer time is unacceptable. TURN THE AIRPLANE DOWN!!! It's a safety risk.

At Comair it would also be a career risk to refuse an airplane for what the company calls a "passenger comfort" (not safety) issue. The Captain was right, he has pretty much zero power when it comes to canceling a flight. I guess at other airlines the company gives the Captains more autonomy. Must be nice.

 

[ERJdca]

Diesel,

I couldn't agree more with you.

For the others, what's with this "tough guy" attitude about knocking someone out. Yes, this guy definately had some personal ambitions for going over the top but it was legitimate as far as the poor conditions mentioned.

Now, i wasn't there and i only saw 7 or so minutes but the Captain just sat there and kinda chuckled while throwing his hands in the air to every comment. Especially when this pax claimed a baby was sick in the back because of this. He didnt even seem to care. For god sakes get off your butt and look into it, take some control of what little you have. How can you guys say he did the right thing???? Then the captain counted his fingers on what he did. How about standing up in the cabin and addressing exactly was has been done? As pilots we see these delays everyday sitting in the front seat, try sitting in the back in a small RJ with no APU. I think you might be changing your view. The flight attendent appeared to be talking to some rep from the door, why didn't the captain grab him and get him to give some information, after all he is customer service? Very Poor Communication.

I'm a bit embarressed as a pilot to read some of the posts on utube(as well as here) written by "pilots" that make highly unprofessional coments. We just keep giving the public a reason to lower their respect for us. But yet we demand it?

 

[SKYW Pilot]

At Comair it would also be a career risk to refuse an airplane for what the company calls a "passenger comfort" (not safety) issue. The Captain was right, he has pretty much zero power when it comes to canceling a flight. I guess at other airlines the company gives the Captains more autonomy. Must be nice.

Man, that really sucks... My experience at Skywest has been great. The company has consistently backed me up when I've taken a long delay or turned down an aircraft for passenger comfort. The lack of APU, though, in the Summer time is more than passenger comfort. It IS a safety issue especially for kids and elderly passengers.

It helps greatly if a pilot is in the back of the aircraft to field questions or use the FA's PA to make an announcement.

 

[dude100]

Wow, what a weak captain! This passenger had the captain scared and nervous.

How about the captain doing a better job communicating to the passengers the situation...what's being done...what's not being done...why and why not. That would have fix much of the problem.

Next step - Sir, you are interfering with the flight crew. Sit down or I will have you arressted.

I was embarrassed by this captain. I understand customer service / relations...but this guy was abusive and the captain was weak.

I would give our fellow pilot a little more credit. I'm sure he followed all of his company proceedures. There are not any fixes for bad wx and thunderstorms on the ramp. He is at the point were he has almost no options left after that much time on the ramp expect to call a customer service agent. I had an irate pax like that once and told him flat out he could take another flight. If that person had a camera I would tell him to turn it off or I would not talk with him about anything. Next time just close the cockpit door my friend.

 

[dude100]

Wow, what a weak captain! This passenger had the captain scared and nervous.

How about the captain doing a better job communicating to the passengers the situation...what's being done...what's not being done...why and why not. That would have fix much of the problem.

Next step - Sir, you are interfering with the flight crew. Sit down or I will have you arressted.

I was embarrassed by this captain. I understand customer service / relations...but this guy was abusive and the captain was weak.

I would give our fellow pilot a little more credit. I'm sure he followed all of his company proceedures. There are not any fixes for bad wx and thunderstorms on the ramp. He is at the point were he has almost no options left after that much time on the ramp expect to call a customer service agent. I had an irate pax like that once and told him flat out he could take another flight. If that person had a camera I would tell him to turn it off or I would not talk with him about anything. Next time just close the cockpit door my friend.

 

[ERJdca]

I would give our fellow pilot a little more credit. I'm sure he followed all of his company proceedures. There are not any fixes for bad wx and thunderstorms on the ramp. He is at the point were he has almost no options left after that much time on the ramp expect to call a customer service agent. .

PROCEDURES?

What does being a good communicator have to do with company procedures?? What does company procedures have to do with addressing some serious human concerns? I am all for supporting other pilots but come on man? How about calling for medical assistance? I bet if everyone starts calling for that, things might start changing!

He didn't have to call a service rep, the video showed the flight attendant talking to one or at least some type of ramp agent.

Again, the video only showed 7 minutes worth, but those 7 min were pretty poor.