XJT forces 47 PAX to sleep aboard aircraft in Rochester, MN?

[vectorvictor]

People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Did the aircraft have stairs pulled up to it? The XJT ERJ has no airstairs so it requires ground personnel. Its a little high to jump out. It can be done but its probably a little hazardous for anyone over the age of 30.

Go Screw! I'm 34 and I would have jumped, face-first, onto the pavement rather than be stuck on that plane for 9 hours. I would have found a set of stairs in less than 9 hours....s$%t I would have built a set in less than 9 hours.....I would have been calling every news agency I could get a hold of from the back of that plane. I probably would have called 911 and told them I was being held against my will.....grow a set...

 

[wms]

The pax need to be screened to get on, not off. I would've gone to the FBO, deplaned and worried about rescreening in the am. Then performed obligatory carpet dance later.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

The pax need to be screened to get on, not off. I would've gone to the FBO, deplaned and worried about rescreening in the am. Then performed obligatory carpet dance later.

Or better yet, let them off the airplane and put them on a bus to MSP, I don't think it's much more than an hour drive.

I wonder if the crew got paid for 12hrs of block? Nice way to inflate the pay check.

 

[LR25]

I wonder what kind of decision would have been made 35 years ago?

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas,

I usually ignore comments on the paper's web site for articles like this, but one guy had it right: this flight, from beginning to end, was marketed as a Continental flight...ticket was bought on a CAL website, a credit card bill from CAL, and checked in with a CAL agent. IMHO, to wind up on on an RJ operated by the lowest bidder is a bait and switch.

If it operates on the code, it should be required to be flown on the certificate. That would go along way to fixing this kind of crap.

Nu

 

[JoeMerchant]

Heyas,

I usually ignore comments on the paper's web site for articles like this, but one guy had it right: this flight, from beginning to end, was marketed as a Continental flight...ticket was bought on a CAL website, a credit card bill from CAL, and checked in with a CAL agent. IMHO, to wind up on on an RJ operated by the lowest bidder is a bait and switch.

If it operates on the code, it should be required to be flown on the certificate. That would go along way to fixing this kind of crap.

Nu

Yeah....this kinda thing never happens on a "real" airplane with "real" pilots....
http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/200...10-proof-we-need-a-passengers-bill-of-rights/

These Delta passengers were only held hostage for 8 hours...but is was on "big" airplane.

 

[79%N1]

Best solution ever! No more subsideries! All work done when buying a CAL, DAL, AA, UA, etc ticket MUST be done by the certificate holder! Now there is something to write your congressman about!!

 

[cybourg10]

^^^^^^^Yes

How about 121 carriers can not have alternates listed on the paperwork that will not have full services (TSA included) available if they have to divert.......might have to leave a few bags/pax and add fuel to get a suitable alternate.....wait never mind this is the airlines, lets do it the cheapest way possible.

This is an embarrassment for XJT....

 

[Mach92]

People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Did the aircraft have stairs pulled up to it? The XJT ERJ has no airstairs so it requires ground personnel. Its a little high to jump out. It can be done but its probably a little hazardous for anyone over the age of 30.

Knowing this why go to KRST? Your D O A with no ops no nothing.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

I just have trouble believing that with a plane load of people and 3 crew members, there was not 1 person assertive enough to get anything done.

 

[2ndGenPSA]

I just have trouble believing that with a plane load of people and 3 crew members, there was not 1 person assertive enough to get anything done.

I agree!!
Three people, probably three cell phones, two vhf radios, Captain's authority, an FBO, and Northwest offering help (according to CNN)... INEXCUSABLE that this Captain did not figure something out.

This is the kind of event that would warrant a phone call to the President of XJet at no matter what hour. Are we missing something?!??!!? If there were no airstairs at the airport, then a stack of milk crates would work. Sheesh. I am bewildered.

 

[front9]

See, now if this flight was operated by MESA the PAX would have purple boards to put across the seats so they can camp in the aircraft with the crew. No deplane, no problem.

 

[WalterSobchak]

How about 121 carriers can not have alternates listed on the paperwork that will not have full services (TSA included) available if they have to divert.......

In some cases, the FBO Gas 'N' Go is a really great, and often faster, option. It just requires a little encouraging, sometimes persuasive, communication between your OCC and the FBO. If nothing else, you can...in most cases...at least pick up gas to go back to your origin station.

I'm just not sure how this kind of thing can happen unless there is some serious failures in DRM/CRM and communication breakdowns between dispatch and the captain. Not to throw all pilots under the bus, but this is the kind of thing we typically see when a captain makes a non-emergency, Captain's-Authority decision to divert to wherever they choose without using his/her resources (i.e., dispatch) to determine the best options for pax handling and flight continuation.

Ask any dispatcher...we've all seen cases where the captain (again, I emphasize, in a non-emergency/WX situation) gets a little overzealous in making an authoritative decision and goes straight for the first available strip of concrete...with no available services at that airport... when everything they need and more is 20nm up the road.

 

[MINIME]

This is the kind of outcome you get when Management teams at almost all airlines have been successfully working at taking Captain's authority away from them. I know, I know, the FARs state this and that. But when the Cheif pilot makes you do a carpet dance everytime you fart without asking for permission what do we get? I'm generalizing here. We get pilots that are intimidated and afraid of their own shadows! They have successfully made pilots that follow a map and are not allowed to make command decisions, especially on the ground.

The question is why do they do this. They do this so as for you to devalue yourself and to slowly condition you to believe that you are not worth more than any other group, thus, you shouldn't seek better compensation or working conditions (bottom line). A myth you think? I beg to differ. Today, gate agents have way more power than Captains. If you don't comply, a couple of trips to the Chief's office and most fall in line. Other employee groups, especially gate agents have been instructed or conditioned to write up flight crews when their demands are not met. They have effectively become management tools to degrade our expectations.

This may seem off topic. But in reality it is very relative. In a situation where a Captain has to make a dicision, he/she may be more concerned with what dispatch or the Chief pilot may have to say about it than what's immediately necessary for a positive outcome. This is real folks. It's happenning and I've witnessed it and perhaps did it myself to some extent. It needs to be addressed and it needs to fixed.

We cannot continue to feel like our hands are tied in situations like these. Hell, if it takes me dialing 911 on my cell to get my passengers off then so be it! A Captain needs to have the authority to do that if in his/her best judgement that's what it took to resolve the issue at hand.

 

[WalterSobchak]

We get pilots that are intimidated and afraid of their own shadows! They have successfully made pilots that follow a map and are not allowed to make command decisions, especially on the ground.

I'm not disagreeing with your comments, as I agree that Captain's Authority has been eroded a quite a bit over the years (especially with those Nazi gate agents). However, had a proper decision been made prior to diversion, utilizing all the resources at hand, the need to make command decisions on the ground would never been necessary.

We weren't there, we don't know the situation and, thus, we can only speculate...but this reeks of overzealous and uninformed decision making on the part of the captain.