Posted on 12/27/2005 8:46:03 PM PST by DenverCossack
SEATTLE (AP) -- A 12-inch hole in the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines jet caused the plane to lose cabin pressure, forcing the pilots to make an emergency descent and return to the airport, authorities said Tuesday. The incident Monday involved an MD-80 jet en route from Seattle to Burbank, Calif. The plane landed safely at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and none of the 140 passengers was hurt. A baggage handler acknowledged that he failed to report immediately striking the plane at the gate Monday with a baggage cart or baggage-belt machine, said Jim Struhsaker, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. The worker told the agency that although the vehicle touched the plane, he was not aware he had dented it, Struhsaker said. The accident created a crease in the plane's aluminum skin, which opened up into a 12-by-6-inch gash as the jet came climbed to 26,000 feet, Struhsaker said. The crew of Flight 536 reported a loss of cabin pressure about 20 minutes after takeoff, airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren said. Oxygen masks deployed for passengers, and the plane made a rapid descent back toward the airport. "I could feel that obviously my ears popping ... and then it got hard to breathe, and then, whoosh, all the compression in the plane was lost," passenger Jeremy Hermanns said. Airline officials did not return repeated calls from The Associated Press.
I bet he was fired before this was posted!
But it should be very clear that he is not being fired for accidentally hitting the plane, but for not reporting it and putting lives in danger.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547878/posts
Hole found in Alaska plane (CONTRACT BAGGAGE HANDLER HIT PLANE - DIDN'T REPORT IT)
Not sure when the walk around inspection should be done with airliners in regard to baggage loading. Im betting somebody should have caught it though.
Alaska Airlines has gone from the best to the worst in 10 years. Would never fly on them again.
He should have at least called his insurance agent...;^)
He probably figured (rightly) that he would be fired if he reported the incident. He was probably hoping that he didn't do any significant damge to the aricraft. In this case he was wrong. I wonder how many other incidents go unreported...
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This afternoon Los Angeles KCAL TV Channel 9 News broadcast a Frontier Airlines 319 or 320 Airbus jetliner making an emergency landing at LAX due to a cargo door warning light showing a compartment broken seal.
Take off point, Orange County's John Wayne Airport approximately 50 miles away.
Bigger Maintence section at LAX was the reason for landing there. Ground inspection showed no initial damage, with on board passengers due to reassume their original destination target in the same plane.
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Was Wink Martindale your dealer?
Gene Rayburn was serving the cocktails.
I have heard (but it was from someone with a dog in the fight) that the composite on the new 787 is going to be a LOT stronger than the aluminum.
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With the 787's stronger composite shell, will JATO assist be sending it vertical up into the Rutan-O-Sphere, perhaps..?
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Bigger Maintenance section? Longer runway more likely....
(sar/)
Shades of "The Miracle Landing" of Aloha Airlines Flight 243:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Flight_243
Thank goodness nobody got sucked out of the plane this time...
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Offical FRONTIER Airlines report as conveyed on KCAL TV Channel 9 News was that its decision to have this Airbus land at LAX was because of the Airline's bigger maintanence section there as opposed to Orange County's John Wayne Airport.
For immediate inspecion purposes, I reckon ..which happen immediately after landing with all passengers staying on board the plane.
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