Posted on 07/24/2009 6:08:32 AM PDT by Peter Horry
That’s a major screwup by the airline’s dispatchers not to mention the pilot. Where was ATC granting clearance for the flight??
Charlie West is a lousy airport anyway. Who would want to go there? Especially after midnight.
Jeez!
Um, “Charlie West” is several hundred miles North of Charleston, South Carolina.
TC
The airline would have had to do a lot better than "hotel vouchers" on this one.
Ron White material:
We were flying from Charlotte to Charleston, cause my manager didn’t own a globe. It’s a ten minute flight...couldn’t pull it off with this equipment.
What a sight when they took delivery of the first C-5A's!
Then as a cadet at "Alcatraz on the Ashley" I got a TDY to fly in one.
Wow! “Canceled”? The flight was flown to the destination and had to divert because the airport was closed. This usually happens because of weather, sometimes because of runway closure caused by an accident etc. The pilot knew that the airport was to close at 12, he must have thought that he could get there before the time. There must be more to the story like a creeping departure delay, ATC flow control restrictions (probably not at that hour), mechanical problems causing a return to the gate, delaying departure for connecting passengers...you get the idea.
Time to spare? Go by air!
“What a sight when they took delivery of the first C-5A’s!”
Believe one of the first one’s in blew a tire, didn’t it? Those things also make an infernal racket, kind of like a DeWalt Router.
You forgot not getting paid unless the wheels go up.
The article states that they thought they could get there in time after a delay on the ground in Charlotte for thunderstorms.
If you ask me, the air traffic tower guys are the ones responsible for this as they could have stayed a few more minutes to allow the plane to land, then close.
But these guys are unionized and don’t give a hoot. The plane was already in range and had contacted the tower when they were told the tower was closing.
This is union inflexibility.
Correct. Most of them blew tires on their first landings.
One had a wheel come off, bounce down the runway, and destroy one of the little red/white checkered sheds.
They all came in a bit "low" as the pilots got used to the cockpit height over the runway.
Or so the explanation went.
As for the noise, we used to call them Screamin' Mimmies. When they would fly over the campus they drowned out everything!
“Flight time” actually starts when the brakes are released at the gate. The flight time to and from Charlotte did give the pilots more flight time credit but I really doubt that this was the reason for the attempt to operate the trip.
A simple call from Charlotte or better coordination by the ATC entities involved could have prevented this situation.
I agree probably an ATC mess up. The present state of the FAA/ATC is sad. ATC centers are their own little fiefdoms. Coordination occurs IN SPITE of the system’s archaic equipment and the unions.
They did call from Charlotte due to the delay in getting off the ground, therefore, ATC knew the plane was inbound but decided to close the tower anyways.
As I said, union workers that don't give a damn about the quality of their job.
Post 14
There is no statement from the airport but I suspect the “deciding factor” was the schedule of the crew and equipment on the runway (though this isn’t addressed in the article). You would think ATC and the work crews could have waited long enough to allow an incoming flight to land .(probably less than 15 minutes) but the article doesn’t give their reasoning.
It could have been inflexibility on the part of the crew or the tower or there could have been a compelling reason. You also have to remember that support personnel would have to be available.
San Diego closes their airport at midnight as do a lot of others.
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