Rectiffied

US Air had a nice young girl call the next day only saying we are sorry for what happened, I just want to check to make sure this is your information, someone will email you with a case number. about 5 minutes later they sent an email saying they will refund our trip and give us a $400 voucher for another flight.
I just want to reiterate, No one came around and gave us a quick head to toe evaluation (I am sure my blood pressure was through the roof) Noone came into the room and asked if anyone needed any medical attention. I saw some EMT's walking around talking to some people but they never made it over to my corner. I honestly never heard a simple sorry for anyone. The police officers in the field were the only ones who seemed concerned about our well being and trying to keep people warm. The police officers in the room stone cold by the doors like we were being held prisoners.
One man sitting by us seemed to think the pilot put the plane in reverse to try and slow us down. I don't know if that is the case or he had any idea what he was talking about. I look forward to everyone's comments on here because I would truly like to know what happened as well. SURVIVOR- I agree with you, Everyone is making it seem like it was a simple tire blown and we just skid down the runway a little bit. They show everyone exiting from the front and the wind but there is no pictures of anyone exiting the back!!

Another question: Would the airport have Surveillance Cameras around the runway? I just feel like with so much security everyone there has to be video of the whole event somewhere.

Flight1702passenger

I was another passenger on flight 1702 and was sitting in the back of the plane at a window seat. Thank you goes out to the witness who first posted what they saw from the airport because my friends and I were feeling like we were going crazy because of how the news was making it seem like we blew a tire and skidded alittle bit and were "safely" evacuated from the smoking plane, when that honestly is beyond the truth. The evacuation was completely chaotic and everyone was in shock and freaking out. If you notice , a lot of the pictures that are being shown of people "safely" evacuating is only showing the front exit with a low sloped slide and then people evacuating from the wing the wing exit. The back exit, in most of the pictures, isn't even open yet because our stewardess was in shock and refused to,open the exit for us to escape. We repeatedly screamed at her to let us out! I in fact saw smoke steaming uncontrollably from left side of plane and was scared that we were going to blow up at any second,. The initial start of takeoff was in
The roughest I've ever experienced and we were literally rocking and felt like we were trying to fight through waves of air and We were in fact airborne and hit a massive amount of turbulence in the first 2 seconds in the air it felt like and everyone was like whooooa and it teetered in the air and then it felt like a massive force smashed us head first into the ground which caused us to bounce back into the air and it felt as though the pilot was speeding up to try and actually get us into flight again and I was scared to death! Thankfully we slammed back into the ground and proceeded to skid uncontrollably down the runway rocking back and forth and I remember looking out the window and feeling as though pieces of the plane were smashing off as we were skidding. Pit was a huge emotion of what the hell just happened after the plane finally stopped and the. A huge feeling of panic came over us, we didn't know what happened and we weren't advised to do anything by anyone until the pilot came on and only said evacuate now! I watched my friend literally get shoved off the back exit of the plane and then I just jumped and flew right past the two men trying to catch us since our slide wasn't touching the ground. People were running around the field everywhere and it took an hour for a bus to finally pick us up from standing in a field in 20 degree weather , it was awful. We then were taken to a room for hours and fed alcohol and crackers for dinner, and never were once asked if we we were okay, it was the most traumatic experience of my life and I would love to know what really happened to make the plane crash.

phlwookie

Thanks all for the additional accounts.

BoeingBoy - the pilots are trained to apply additional power to combat wind shear-induced speed/altitude loss, correct? Wondering if that's applicable here based on some of what we're hearing from those on board. It does take several seconds for jet engines to spool up of course, though less so today versus earlier generations of jet aircraft.

DaviddesJ

The news stories I've read make it sound like a major accident, and all evacuations after crashes are dangerous and difficult. It's surprising (in a fortunate way) that there were no major injuries in the evacuation. Where did you read the news that made it sound like just a minor thing?

As several people have said, the flight crew is trained to carefully evaluate the situation and act with caution. Especially in a case where the plane is tilted forward, it's very easy to open the door when the slide can't reach the ground and then have many people injured going out that exit. This has been a source of very serious injuries in past crashes. Given that in fact there seems to have been no need to hurry the evacation (the plane wasn't consumed by flames, or anything) it seems to me from what I have read that the crew was exercising appropriate caution.

It does sound like the airline didn't do a good job with the passengers after the crash.

It usually takes a long time for anyone to know for sure. I wouldn't expect an answer in just a matter of days.

BoeingBoy

Actually not that long when the engine is already producing even reduced takeoff thrust. While not instantaneous, less than a second. What takes longer is for the increased thrust to increase the speed of the plane since there's a lot of inertia to overcome. So it may feel like several seconds to increase thrust.

From idle, you'd be right.

Jim

DaviddesJ

In this case we were primarily taking about decreasing thrust, not increasing thrust. But there's not a huge difference.

What you *feel* is the acceleration of the plane (which is determined by thrust), not the velocity. So if the engines are generating a certain level of thrust, then you will *feel* that immediately if you're sitting in the plane.

Flight1702passenger

"I look forward to everyone's comments on here because I would truly like to know what happened as well. SURVIVOR- I agree with you, Everyone is making it seem like it was a simple tire blown and we just skid down the runway a little bit. They show everyone exiting from the front and the wind but there is no pictures of anyone exiting the back!!
Another question: Would the airport have Surveillance Cameras around the runway? I just feel like with so much security everyone there has to be video of the whole event somewhere"

Flight1702passenger

I am aware that I will not know what happened in a matter of days , I never expected to know soon daviddesj, and I know that it clearly is not safe to evacuate the back of a tilted plane because I had to do it 3 nights ago and we had no choice but to jump off the back exit. There was nothing said to us AT ALL, except when the pilot said to evacuate now and she just stood there like a deer in head lights as everyone was panicking to get off. , not caution...she never said remain calm, she said nothing..... There was smoke coming from the back left of the plane where we were seated , and I smelled gas, I was there , I know.....and just because the plane wasn't consumed in flames doesn't mean that there was no hurry to evacuate. We were definitely in a hurry to evacuate considering our plane just crashed and we could possibly blow up at any minute...it was horrifying.

BoeingBoy

Which is why the FAA requires that half the exits be unusable during the emergency evacuation certification - not every exit should be used every time. You and others chose one of the closest exits, although there were 4 other perfectly usable exits. That's what the FA is there for - to keep passengers from using unusable exits - although in this case apparently didn't do that. Unfortunately there is little/no emphasis on usable exits in either the briefing or the safety card.

Jim

BoeingBoy

I'm sorry - somehow I missed this post.

Power is determined by engine certification modified by weight and runway length although nothing prevents a crew from using full rated thrust for every takeoff. The airlines like reduced thrust to be used when possible since it extends engine life thus saving money. What is normal is to add some speed in gusty conditions and even use full thrust if deemed advisable.

Wind itself isn't a problem, but strong gusts can be. That's because of the inertia of the plane - wind speed in gusty conditions can change faster than inertia allows the plane to change speed, which is especially important when the gust drops or ends. Adding speed while still on the runway gives a bigger safety margin - if/when the gust stops you have a higher speed than you would if you used the book speeds for takeoff.

As I said earlier, thrust changes are nearly instantaneous once the engine is producing an appreciable amount of thrust - human reaction time to move the thrust levers is longer. That's because of what produces thrust, much like in your car. Engine rotation, by itself, produces very little thrust. It's burning the fuel that allows engine rotation to produce significant thrust and the amount of fuel injected into the engine changes almost instantaneously, whether increasing or decreasing thrust.

Jim

lizs

Although we don't know what the FA at the back was doing, it appears in the moments after the crash (incident?) there was not communication with the passengers at the back who were justifiably panicked after an incident like this and were not told to use alternate exits. With smoke visible and a gas smell, after a crash to the ground, and the plane's nose on the ground, the passengers understandably wanted to get out ASAP.

It is easy to say "Given that in fact there seems to have been no need to hurry the evacation (the plane wasn't consumed by flames, or anything) it seems to me from what I have read that the crew was exercising appropriate caution" when hindsight is 20/20. A few pages back passengers were being severely chastised for grabbing bags when every second counts. You can't have it both ways - the back passengers were desperately trying to get off as they were directed to do by the pilot, FA froze (or if she was evaluating the options should have at least communicated to the passengers), which just contributed to the panic I'm sure.

I am glad that everyone got off the plane safely and most, if not all, were wearing their seatbelts as directed. However, the response from US Airways immediately following the crash by providing lounge booze and crackers seems to be severely lacking. Why nobody could bring in some pizza, or food from an airport restaurant seems odd. Also that the paramedics didn't check every single passenger there. I was glad to hear children and women (which seems outdated to Titanic days lol) were given some cars to sit in on the runway in very cold temperatures but it seems US Airways did not go above and beyond in this case.

Also, I'm not sure of standard procedure but money refunded and a $400 voucher? Is that normal compensation?

USD2BUSMC

The situation seems a little like combat, you never know how you are going to react until it happens. Looking at the photo's I would tell you, with perfect 20/20 hindsight, and given the height of the tail, I would direct to another exit if possible.

But as a passenger, smelling fuel, seeing smoke, and hearing evacuate...I am getting off the plane as quickly as possible, even if it means a 20 ft jump. I will say I do not undertand what I perceive as bad feelings towards the FA...these are people...trained people...but people none the less...

Glad everyone is okay.

DaviddesJ

Those different comments were made by two different people. I didn't "severely chastise" anyone.

DaviddesJ

Exactly. That's why it's the FA's job to slow you down and perhaps save your life, because in the panic of the situation you might do something that is worse than waiting. I'm sure the communication could have been better, and I obviously can't know what any particular FA is thinking. But I think the FA is probably going to do a better job of balancing the urgency of the situation against the risk of using a given exit, than a passenger is. Certainly that's what their training is for.

Rectiffied

As a person who already had a fear of flying, I was told by a pilot I know, " Always keep your eyes on the FA when you're scared. If they are going about their job and don't look worried either should you." So that is what I have always done when I fly. When your worst fear is happening and pure panic is ensuing , I turned to that FA for guidance and received none. You expect to hear something like Please Remain Calm, Exit orderly..SOMETHING.. ANYTHING
I understand that no one knows what will happen when put in the situation, I guess I just would have liked to have a FA (or anyone really) who would have stepped up not back. As a teacher, If I froze up during an emergency evacuation and let my kids leave the classroom running in all directions, I would be held accountable. Come to think of it, I never once saw a head count or heard a role call to make sure all passengers were actually accounted for. People ran all over place, who is to say they all made it back to that holding room?