Posted on 12/27/2005 6:34:42 PM PST by paulat
Hole found in Alaska plane
05:30 PM PST on Tuesday, December 27, 2005 KING5.com
Investigators: Problems spike after ramp work outsourced
SEATTLE – An Alaska Airlines plane was forced to return to Seattle Monday after a gash in the plane’s fuselage caused the aircraft to lose pressurization.
The incident began when a ramp worker hit the plane with a baggage cart or baggage belt machine, according to National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Jim Struhsaker.
The accident created a crease in the skin of the plane which opened up into a hole when the pressure on the plane changed at 26,000 feet.
The employee told the agency that although the vehicle had touched the plane, he was not aware that he had dented it.
“At that time in the driving rain it did not appear to be significant to him,” Stuhsaker said.
According to Alaska Airlines and accounts provided to KING 5 News by passengers, flight 536 took off from Sea-Tac at 3:50 p.m., bound for Burbank, Calif.
Alaska Airlines flight 536 was forced to return to Sea-Tac Monday after it lost cabin pressure. Passenger Jeremy Hermanns took this snapshot of the scene after the oxygen masks had dropped down.
About 10 or 20 minutes into the flight, there was a loud noise and the cabin lost pressure. The plane then descended rapidly before returning to Sea-Tac, said Caroline Boren, a spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines.
Passenger accounts of the incident paint a scary picture.
“I could feel that obviously my ears popping and that's not a good symbol and that didn't go away and then it got hard to breathe and then whoosh all the compression in the plane was lost. We totally decompressed,” said passenger Jeremy Hermanns.
He said everyone on board scrambled to get their masks on and then the engine noise became very loud.
“We knew that something was going on … it was definitely frightening. It wasn't something I wanted to do again,” he said.
Jeremy Hermanns shot this image of himself with his oxygen mask on after the plane he was on lost cabin pressure.
Hermann’s believes, nevertheless that the crew handled the situation well.
“I'm just very glad that the pilots and the crew and everybody handled it so well,” he said.
instead of a Push-back, where you have a tug pushing a jet from the gate, some jets have enough thrust reversers to actually power themselves from the gate. Hense Power-back...
Thanks for explaining.
no problem.. anytime. The MD-80 is the one mostly powerbacked because of the location of the motors, high and in the rear
Was that when they were still flying Blackbirds out of Beale?
No - but we had the U2s doing Touch and Go's in the pattern all day!
That was AWESOME!!
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