47 CO Pax Imprisoned Overnight on Stinky E145 @ Rochester, MN
Aug 9, 2009, 7:19 pm
#106
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Comment from PAX
The comments in the article are a good read, including one from a PAX from the flight.
[Appended -- saw that while searching for the quote, the thread had progressed to this topic] -- is the pilot's inaction caused by youth, inexperience, and lack of authority -- is this one of those overworked, underpaid regional pilots? Given the lack of a snowstorm or lightening threatening the physical safety of PAX when deplaning, would a mainline pilot with a military history (regardless of gender!) and 20+ years of commercial flight experience under his/her belt have insisted that his/her PAX be allowed to deplane?
Passenger on flight 2816
I was a passenger on flight 2816. I now know hell. Being stuck on that plane for 9.5 hours, 7 hours on the ground, was no picnic. The captain was not communicating with us at all, and what she did tell us seemed like stalling. A couple of things that have not made the stories that baffle me; 1. Another Northwest plane had also landed at Rochester just before us, they were allowed to exit their plane with there luggage and enter the airport at 3 AM!!! We sat till 6:30 AM being fed lines about the airport is not open and we cannot go in. 2. There was a bus waiting on the other side of the terminal from us at 5 AM. This was verified by Rochester tower employees (ATC). I asked the pilot if there was a bus and she picked up the intercom and announced to the plane "There is no bus". 3. Once we were ALLOWED into the airport we were quarantined to one space at a gate and not allowed to move freely around the airport. I asked the security guard in charge of us why that was, we all were told to have our IDs and boarding passes with us and the airport was fully operational at this time. He told me he had no idea, it was what the flight crew had told him to do. Right before they went home because they had no flying hours left. I think the other bases have been pretty well covered but these have been over looked and I think we deserve some answers. Who do we get them from?
I was a passenger on flight 2816. I now know hell. Being stuck on that plane for 9.5 hours, 7 hours on the ground, was no picnic. The captain was not communicating with us at all, and what she did tell us seemed like stalling. A couple of things that have not made the stories that baffle me; 1. Another Northwest plane had also landed at Rochester just before us, they were allowed to exit their plane with there luggage and enter the airport at 3 AM!!! We sat till 6:30 AM being fed lines about the airport is not open and we cannot go in. 2. There was a bus waiting on the other side of the terminal from us at 5 AM. This was verified by Rochester tower employees (ATC). I asked the pilot if there was a bus and she picked up the intercom and announced to the plane "There is no bus". 3. Once we were ALLOWED into the airport we were quarantined to one space at a gate and not allowed to move freely around the airport. I asked the security guard in charge of us why that was, we all were told to have our IDs and boarding passes with us and the airport was fully operational at this time. He told me he had no idea, it was what the flight crew had told him to do. Right before they went home because they had no flying hours left. I think the other bases have been pretty well covered but these have been over looked and I think we deserve some answers. Who do we get them from?
Aug 9, 2009, 7:26 pm
#107
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The comments in the article are a good read, including one from a PAX from the flight.
[Appended -- saw that while searching for the quote, the thread had progressed to this topic] -- is the pilot's inaction caused by youth, inexperience, and lack of authority -- is this one of those overworked, underpaid regional pilots? Given the lack of a snowstorm or lightening threatening the physical safety of PAX when deplaning, would a mainline pilot with a military history (regardless of gender!) and 20+ years of commercial flight experience under his/her belt have insisted that his/her PAX be allowed to deplane?
[Appended -- saw that while searching for the quote, the thread had progressed to this topic] -- is the pilot's inaction caused by youth, inexperience, and lack of authority -- is this one of those overworked, underpaid regional pilots? Given the lack of a snowstorm or lightening threatening the physical safety of PAX when deplaning, would a mainline pilot with a military history (regardless of gender!) and 20+ years of commercial flight experience under his/her belt have insisted that his/her PAX be allowed to deplane?
Aug 9, 2009, 7:27 pm
#108
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[Appended -- saw that while searching for the quote, the thread had progressed to this topic] -- is the pilot's inaction caused by youth, inexperience, and lack of authority -- is this one of those overworked, underpaid regional pilots? Given the lack of a snowstorm or lightening threatening the physical safety of PAX when deplaning, would a mainline pilot with a military history (regardless of gender!) and 20+ years of commercial flight experience under his/her belt have insisted that his/her PAX be allowed to deplane?
Why would the cpatain keep the passengers locked in the plane if the terminal was still operational? And why would she deny the presence of the bus? And finally, what could possibly justify segregating the passengers in one gate area so long as they were airside?
Even if the youth and inexperience of the captain contributed to this situation, there has to be more to it than just that.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:37 pm
#109
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Hopefully that pilot is fired and has her record tarnished, never to fly again.... that is horrible how she reacted...
Aug 9, 2009, 7:38 pm
#110
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The only airlines that fliy no RJ's are WN and some of the minor carriers such as Frontier, Virgin America, USA300, etc.
Even B6, while technically all mainline, flies the E-190, which is essentially an RJ (although its crews are on the mainline roster).
There are many cities in the United States that have no mainline service whatsoever.
So you should be prepared for a major shift in your travel habits, and perhaps a lot of driving, or taking the bus or Amtrak.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:39 pm
#111
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We don't have enough facts to make such a deliberate statement.
It's possible she fought hard for the good of her passengers, and that either the airport authority and/or XJ would not concede, perhaps because of cost issues.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:42 pm
#112
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Doesn't Frontier have the a Bombardier Q something in their fleet? They used to have them, flying under the Lynx nameplate, but that could have changed with their bankruptcy filing. I could be wrong, it's been a few years since I paid any attention to them.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:50 pm
#113
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The facts are plenty that she screwed up. Isnīt the timeline fact enough? The problem seems to be that she applied an unhealthy common female behaviour not to question or secondguess other "authorities" - like the aiprort manager or maybe her airline superiors. Otherwise, she would have decided to end this incredible hostage situation earlier by just applying common sense.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:55 pm
#114
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Again, if the passengers were offloaded into the terminal and faced with a security guard telling them to remain confined, they could and should have just shoved him aside and left to make their own arrangements. People who get into problems after bowing to non-existent authority only have themselves to blame.
At that point, they should have left the airport, found hotels and then met the following morning to jointly call CO and demand resolution. I'm fairly certain a call from the group to CO the following morning would have been escalated to Ops very quickly and a suitable solution found.
We don't know if the Capt was acting on her own or under orders from XJ Operations - this entire debacle needs to be sorted out between CO and XJ, as I'm sure it already is.
Aug 9, 2009, 7:57 pm
#115
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Aug 9, 2009, 8:01 pm
#116
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And, yes, Lynx operates Q400's.
Aug 9, 2009, 8:04 pm
#117
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The facts are plenty that she screwed up. Isnīt the timeline fact enough? The problem seems to be that she applied an unhealthy common female behaviour not to question or secondguess other "authorities" - like the aiprort manager or maybe her airline superiors. Otherwise, she would have decided to end this incredible hostage situation earlier by just applying common sense.
Firstly, decision making happens as a course of training and experience, both of which have the sum total of nothing to do with sex, gender, race, or any other demographic.
Secondly, to categorically lump all women everywhere into one single group and label them as stupid is a gross disservice to your brain, as clearly you've deprived it of oxygen so long that you've become a blithering moron. Please think of the gene pool and let it stop with you.
I'm sorry a woman apparently hurt you at some point in your life, but that's no reason to take it out on everyone else.
Aug 9, 2009, 8:04 pm
#118
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Then again, one occasionally sees a 50-something captain working for a regional carrier. Some pilots prefer to be a big fish in a small pond. The top salary for a regional carrier captain is the $110k/year range, and there are benefits that come from seniority and flying flights that tend to be shorter than what most mainline pilots fly.