Posted on 04/12/2017 11:33:59 AM PDT by servo1969
A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Shanghai, China was diverted from flying over Russian airspace for "diplomatic reasons" early Wednesday morning, passengers on the flight say.
Those diplomatic concerns forced the flight to refuel at Tokyo's Narita airport, the flight's captain told passengers, several of whom posted about it on social media.
On @United 857 enroute to PVG, diverted to NRT. Captain: Due to diplomatic reasons, Russia denied access to air space. Now refuelling
-- brianlinca (@brianlinca) April 12, 2017
One passenger named Andy Brown says that the airplane almost ran out of fuel before landing at Narita.
"Then they backed into something at Tokyo airport broke something on the plane!" he wrote in a Facebook post.
"United probably will not tell the public about this."
Reached by Skype, Brown told The Daily Caller that he makes the flight to Shanghai about once a month and has never had a fight diverted.
Another passenger posted about the delay.
теперь шутки про третью мировую не кажутся такими смешными... pic.twitter.com/4FDcsjSitp
-- латышева (@latyshevaaa) April 12, 2017
@latyshevaaa @etosova Morning @united !
Can you clarify why flights #UA857 and #UA198 were diverted to NRT&HND from their destination in Shanghai, please?-- Rǫgnvaldr ór Moskviæ (@1stChairmanMeow) April 12, 2017
It is not entirely clear what diplomatic concerns may have forced the diversion. The most obvious explanation would be the tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia over Syria's use of chemical weapons during an attack on April 4.
The White House said on Tuesday that the Russian government has engaged in a cover-up to shift blame from the Syrian regime for the attacks, which involved the use of sarin gas and killed 100 people. Syria and Russia are allies.
In 2014, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev floated the idea of denying Western airlines access to Russian airspace in response to sanctions.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is also currently in Russia. He met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday and will meet with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
It is unclear if any other flights were re-routed and whether the diversions are temporary.
Seems like the whole world is out of control.
lol
Sorry, but have you flown Aeroflot lately? They have been kicking United’s ass in customer service for a *long* time now.
-Bill
Ask and you shall RECEIVE
Because a United Airlines flight will beat on Russian SU-27s too.
Interfering with the duties of a crewmember violates federal law.
Federal Aviation Regulations 91.11, 121.580 and 135.120 state that "no person may assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmember's duties aboard an aircraft being operated." Reporting is at the discretion of the crewmember.
Security violations are excluded. Those cases are handled by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Updated numbers are posted on this web page quarterly.
The repercussions for passengers who engage in unruly behavior can be substantial. They can be fined by FAA or prosecuted on criminal charges.
As part of the FAA's Reauthorization Bill (April 16, 2000) the FAA can propose up to $25,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases. Previously, the maximum civil penalty per violation was $1,100. One incident can result in multiple violations.
Most jets do. It’s called thrust reversers. They can back up but never do because it sucks FOD into the engines.
I think you are right.
I’m sure this is only happening to make Trump look good. /s
I’m thinking about that passenger jet the Russians shot down a few years ago...
Thrust reversers. They are used all the time upon landing, to slow the aircraft and save the brakes. Never have seen it used for backing an aircraft, but somewhere on the globe they probably come in handy occasionally, in lieu of a tractor to push the plane around.
Reverse thrust can be used to move a craft backwards. I borrowed this off the net:
f circumstances require it, reverse thrust can be used all the way to a stop, or even to provide thrust to push the aircraft backward, though aircraft tugs or towbars are more commonly used for that purpose. When reverse thrust is used to push an aircraft back from the gate, the maneuver is called a powerback. Some manufacturers warn against the use of this procedure during icy conditions as using reverse thrust on snow- or slush-covered ground can cause slush, water, and runway deicers to become airborne and adhere to wing surfaces.
Bill
I doesn’t take much to kick UA’s butt. Even Olympic out of Greece (if they are still around) had better service than UA
Bill
I doesn’t take much to kick UA’s butt. Even Olympic out of Greece (if they are still around) had better service than UA
I was stranded in Trinidad for 3 days because of United and I can safely say they will not compensate you other than a worthless $200 voucher which they know 90% of them will never be used
Thinking the Law of Greater Tonnage is a boating analogy that applies here. I don’t recall if it is an actual law or just an application of common sense. The net of it is this: Boaters need to avoid collisions; a small boat with the right of way should yield to a larger boat if a collision is likely to occur. Should the operator of a small boat fail to do so, he can swim confidently back to shore knowing that he was right...
United Airlines is the small boat. UA was right, but failed miserably at avoiding a collision.
It doesn’t take too much business travel to see people behave badly in response to flight delays, cancellations, lost luggage, etc. It’s wrong of course for a passenger to come unglued... but it needs to be managed to. At some point, UA should have considered where this situation was going, and shifted course quickly.
Once at Oshkosh, I saw a C-130 (Fat Albert) change the prop pitch to back the plane out of it’s parking spot.
Again with this garbage & caps no less. The rules are for overbooking. United has admitted they were not over booked. They wanted to move crew. The rules speak as to boarding, this person was in their seat. The man was interfering with nothing. He attacked or threatened no one.
Don’t spread disinformation when the videos and reports from passengers describe no such screaming fit or fight. The man was sitting quietly in his seat saying he had patients the next day & had to get home. He screamed when one reached in and dragged him out over the seat rest, injuring him and rendering him unconscious.
Speaking of garbage is your reply. The issue was interference with a flight crew. The punishment can be severe. This doofus stopped the flight from departing — he interfered with it. The captain would have been well within his rights to have this guy removed by force. “Booking” my tuchis. This guy is already a convicted felon.
The cel phone video contains his shrieking and refusal to move until moved by others. He wasn’t injured except for the bloody lip he earned by fighting with police. Lucky it wasn’t worse. Unconscious? Where did you come up with that one? He was so “unconscious” that once off the plane and pulled free and ran back on board.
Thx ... was aware of the reverse thrusters used during landing, but never thought of them being used in a “stand-alone” situation.
We can disagree. He didn’t shriek until he was grabbed.He ran back on the plane dazed after he was left unconscious while the “cops” went to get a stretcher.
I think it will be settled in court or by a settlement. The United Airlines CO changed his tune when he saw the video and admitted wrong doing on their part, poor judgement and improper procedures. You can continue to cheerlead for brutalizing a passenger who only sat in his seat and wanted to undertake the journey he paid for but United has admitted they were wrong.
Airline employees have enhanced authority because of terrorism and saftey concerns but with authority comes responsibility to act in a fair, reasonable, measured manner proportionate to the circumstances. They can’t just push their weight around without repercussions. We are about to see those repercussions ripple through the industry.
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