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Passengers broil, boil in sweltering jet

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Passengers broil, boil in sweltering jet

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Old Aug 2, 2006, 6:07 am
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Passengers broil, boil in sweltering jet

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4123227

As more than 200 Denver- bound United Airlines passengers waited to board Flight 909 from Chicago on Monday, it became apparent that something was wrong.
The Boeing 777, parked at the gate at O'Hare International Airport, was extremely hot. As in 115 degrees. The plane's auxiliary power unit, which generates electricity when engines are shut down at the gate, was broken. That killed the air conditioning and triggered a five-hour ordeal for passengers and crew.
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 6:26 am
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 9:26 am
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Amazing that something like this still happens.
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 11:39 am
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If passengers had to sit in 115 degree temperatures, then some kind of legal action needs to be taken against the airline.
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 12:04 pm
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And I thought sitting in an airless NW plane at approx 85 deg was bad enough.
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 1:12 pm
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Originally Posted by ContinentalFan
If passengers had to sit in 115 degree temperatures, then some kind of legal action needs to be taken against the airline.
The airlines response: "What are you complaining about? You lost 10 pounds didn't you?"
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 2:45 pm
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Originally Posted by sobore
The airlines response: "What are you complaining about? You lost 10 pounds didn't you?"
LOL good one. That plane must have been humid as heck after the plane took off!
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 2:58 pm
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Originally Posted by sobore
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4123227

As more than 200 Denver- bound United Airlines passengers waited to board Flight 909 from Chicago on Monday, it became apparent that something was wrong.
The Boeing 777, parked at the gate at O'Hare International Airport, was extremely hot. As in 115 degrees. The plane's auxiliary power unit, which generates electricity when engines are shut down at the gate, was broken. That killed the air conditioning and triggered a five-hour ordeal for passengers and crew.

Wow, pretty warped reporting. Taking all of the worst parts of a story and trying to link them all together as if they happened at the same time.

The "five hour ordeal" was mostly endured in the air conditioned terminal. No passengers were ever on board when the plane was supposedly at 115 degrees. The airline took action to lower the tempurature prior to boarding a single passenger. The plane was at the gate and boarding began at 630 with boarding complete by 7. It was hot in the plane, but never higher than the 90's and within an hour the plane was so cold that the passengers were grabbing for the blankets.

Wow, sure sounds like a logical reason for a law suit. Was any of those passengers FORCED to board the plane?
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 5:07 pm
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Any Flyertalkers on board?
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Old Aug 2, 2006, 11:54 pm
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Originally Posted by redbeard911
Any Flyertalkers on board?
i am onboard
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Old Aug 3, 2006, 1:51 am
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This same thing happened to me a few months ago on an AA RJ ORD -MLI. Maybe not 115 degrees, but sweltering until we pushed back. APU problem as well.

And since the APU was out we needed special equipment to leave which was delayed, of course.
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Old Aug 3, 2006, 9:11 am
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Originally Posted by planemechanic
Wow, pretty warped reporting. Taking all of the worst parts of a story and trying to link them all together as if they happened at the same time.

The "five hour ordeal" was mostly endured in the air conditioned terminal. No passengers were ever on board when the plane was supposedly at 115 degrees. The airline took action to lower the tempurature prior to boarding a single passenger. The plane was at the gate and boarding began at 630 with boarding complete by 7. It was hot in the plane, but never higher than the 90's and within an hour the plane was so cold that the passengers were grabbing for the blankets.

Wow, sure sounds like a logical reason for a law suit. Was any of those passengers FORCED to board the plane?

I was basing comments on what was reported--if it happened to be true. I am still not sure what exactly happened there. The temperature of 115 F is a little puzzling, since if there was sustained exposure to that environment, some people would probably have had serious medical conditions.
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Old Aug 3, 2006, 10:44 am
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Originally Posted by planemechanic
...Wow, sure sounds like a logical reason for a law suit. Was any of those passengers FORCED to board the plane?
Lawsuit, no, but UA should offer something to these passengers who unexpectedly spent 90-120 minutes in the tropics.
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