Originally Posted by
GrumpyAnalyst
I have been diverted only once (it was 1989) in >30 years of flying (Maybe I am lucky.) I was flying ORD->LGA on UA, after a 3-hour weather delay, on approach, we started a holding pattern. When I asked why we were holding I was told (I kid you not...) "We are below 10,000 feet, the pilot is not allowed to make any announcements". After about an hour we were told (by the captain) that we were diverted to EWR because LGA was closed.
On landing, we learned an airplane had skidded off the runway at LGA. I didn't mind being over five hours late. I didn't even mind being diverted to EWR (I had a meeting nearby anyway.) What I minded was the stupidity of the UA FA.
Was the FA the stupid one?
U.S. FAR 121.542:
a. No certificate holder shall require, nor may any flight crewmember perform, any duties during a critical phase of flight except those duties required for the safe operation of the aircraft.
[…]
c. For the purposes of this section, critical phases of flight includes all ground operations involving taxi, takeoff and landing, and all other flight operations conducted below 10,000 feet, except cruise flight.
(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_Cockpit_Rule)