Flight from Chicago to NYC airport loses engine in flight

Passengers on flight | October 11, 2005 | vanity

[leadpenny]

Is that right? By design cylinders were shut down?

[topher]

In a car, if you shutdown for a light, you need to anticipate the light turning green. The car needs to be turned on when the light starts to change.

In some cities, the pedestrian light going solid red is an indication the light is changing. So I try to be ready to roll once the light is green.

[leadpenny]

Have you figured in the cost of new batteries and starters?

[Trust but Verify]

It may be important to note that this airline is in bankruptcy.

Aren't they all?

[leadpenny]

It would be easier to list the ones that aren't.

[azhenfud]

Fords did by accident what Caddies were later designed to do...;-)

You could say it was by design - sort of...I suppose.

[topher]

Have you figured in the cost of new batteries and starters?

I have been concerned about that. It is an inexpensive American car that is almost 13 years old with 200,000+ miles. At least with a manual transmission, I can turn on the key and restart while coasting. But I don't always downshift to the correct gear to do that.

I try to do this seldom. But if one is at an annoying light, alot of heat builds up in the engine. A two minute light can cool down my engine a bit... I actually had to do this when I had an overheating problem to be able to get home (on a night too cold to try to stop and work on the car).

[azhenfud]

ROTFLOL! Yes - that's true!

"Bankrupt Air" has a ring to it.

[topher]

Too often we get sensationalized news that turns out to be overhyped.

That reminds me... The AP office in Rockefeller Center in Manhattan is right by the store Banana Republic.

Does that mean the AP and NBC News are part of the Banana Republic news organizations?

(I like to go visit St Patricks Cathedral, so occasionally, I pass that way to get a subway back home...)

[azhenfud]

"Now days you're seeing fewer folks racing up to a red light just to wear their brakes out."

I've always wondered why some drivers wanted to be the first to be stopped at a red light. Still can't figure that one out.

[COEXERJ145]

DC9-30?

That's an old bird, isn't it?

The engine would not be the original equipment. Engines are replaced and/or rebuilt after a certain number of hours.

[azhenfud]

In China, on busier intersections they've begun to put countdown timers on the yellow to red traffic signal switches, starting with a ten second warning. Those are nice.

[leadpenny]

I'm not a mechanic but I play one on FR.

Something you might consider when in stop and go traffic to prevent overheating, is to pop your hood to the safety latch (make sure it's a good latch). Typically, the way engine compartments have been designed over the past 25 years, engines actually heat up before they cool down for the first few minutes after shut down. Most of those hood safety latches are designed to hold for highway speeds in case you forget to put it back down.

Years ago I was hauling my HD in the back of a small old PU truck through the hills of WV. I kept it from overheating by popping the hood and turning the heater on.

[topher]

One Saturday on the Belt Parkway going to Coney Island, there was an accident that brought traffic to a halt. I found a place to pull over, and look out onto the Atlantic Ocean, (and of course, turned off my engine).

A police car, heading to the accident scene asked if I had trouble (which was great of the NYPD), and I said no.

Sometimes on a very nice day, time to get out of the traffic (especially if there is grid lock) and enjoy the view! My car will run very hot in standstill traffic after about 20 minutes...

[topher]

Speaking of mechanical things, at the altitude the aircraft was at, I wonder if something came loose on the engine to cause the whiz noise.

But I have no knowledge of aircraft engines... Not a clue...

[appeal2]

Think how much fuel they could save if they turned off both engines.

[appeal2]

Think how much fuel they could save if they turned off both engines.

[From many - one.]

Someone posted here on FreeRepublic that there were questions as to the quality of the substitute (offshore, I think) mechanics.

If it's true I hope there's enough fuss about this that they tighten up.

[leadpenny]

On a DC-9 it would only be the folks in the back part of the cabin who could hear it but if it sounded like a turbine engine winding down, it was probably a precautionary shutdown. A number of cockpit indications would cause the pilots to do that; oil pressure, vibration indication, accessory gearbox problem, or something else. If something catastrophic had happened to the engine I'm sure the pax would have heard it or the Captain would have told them after it was secure.

I'm really concerned about non-profitable airlines still in the air. Sooner or later they start cutting corners.

[scott7278]

Stop-and-go driving is not very good on your engine to begin with, but the introduction of shutting the engine down and restarting it constantly -- also hard on your engine -- could be counterproductive to thriftiness.

If you are stuck in traffic, and are worried about overheating, try pulling the hood latch and allowing the safety latch to keep the hood from popping up.