The rear of the slate is de-laminating on this American Airlines Boeing 757 on flight 1990.
Last Saturday American Airlines flight 1990 was about to take off from Miami to Orlando, when a passenger noticed a bit of damage to the wing’s right slat. As the flight of the Boeing 757 progressed the passenger, who wishes to remain anonymous, noticed the small damage had spread to the width of several feet and he notified one of the flight attendants.
WESH of Orlando spoke with American spokesperson, Tim Smith, and he confirmed that the Boeing 757 did have some de-lamination on the plane’s right wing. He stated the plane was taken out of service and ferried back to Miami to have repairs completed. Smith stated the de-lamination occurred on the rear of one of the wing’s slats, and even if the problem had affected the operation of the slat, the slats simply make the plane more aerodynamic but do not affect the plane’s ability to fly safely.
“I really do want to assure folks that safety wasn’t compromised and no one was in any danger because of this,” he said.
Some others aren’t so sure. Eric Norber of Orlando FAA Safety Team feels that the pilots should have made an emergency landing. At first glance this might look like a serious incident, but I am not so sure.
First off the flight from Miami to Orlando is extremely short and it might have taken longer for the pilot to make an emergency landing back in Miami versus continuing to Orlando. Obviously American felt it was not a safety risk, since the plane was flown back to Miami with no passengers aboard.
Ice or debris on the leading edge of slats can cause a loss of lift and serious issues, however the damage was on the rear of the slats and appears to be mostly cosmetic. While the rear of the slat is make of laminated composite material, the front part is made of alloy and the damage would not been able to spread.
That being said, I will continue to find out more information about this incident, but on the most part, this might just be a non-incident (except for a few interesting photos).
Someone on Airliners.net also posted a very cool image showing how the rear of the slat (this photo is of a Boeing 747, but still similar construction) is to the front.
Jasper Schuringa who attacked the Christmas Bomber on Flight 253
I am sure we can all remember the Christmas Bomber who tried to blow up Delta Air Lines flight 253 back on December 25, 2009. Recently, the passenger who bravely overpowered the terrorist and could have saved lives. Jasper Schuringa heard a loud pop and smelled smoke in the cabin before taking action. Schuringa quickly climb over seats to confront the terrorist Farouk Abdulmutallab. When Schuringa reached the terrorist he had the explosive in his hands on fire. Even though it didn’t explode how it was supposed to, it still could detonate at anytime and the flames were catching pillows on fire. Schuringa took the explosive away and tried to put the flames out with his bare hands. When that didn’t work he threw it on the ground and asked for fire extinguishers.
While other passengers worked to put out the flames, Schuringa started to attack the terrorist putting him in a headlock and fighting with him in the aisle. Other passengers and crew members then joined in the attack and were able to get Abdulmutallab into handcuffs.
Schuringa ended up suffering burns on his hand and was credited for his quick actions to subdue the terrorist. Schuringa was awarded by the Conway Safe Skies Award, which has been given out since 1990 to recognize outstanding efforts to protect the global air travelers’ safety. Nominees can include flight crews, passengers, ground crews, law enforcement officers, security personnel, aircraft designers, airport officials, and scientists developing explosives detection devices or other security systems.
“The 787 Dreamliner poked through the clouds outside London just before 9 am on Sunday. Instead of landing though, the all-new jet flew by and wagged its wings, the aviation equivalent of ‘how do you do.’
With cameras and cell phones pointed skyward for more, Captains Mike Bryan and Ted Grady circled back for a proper landing at the 2010 Farnborough International Air Show.”
This is exciting, since it was the first international flight of the Boeing 787. Boeing flew ZA003 which has the partial cabin set up to show off to airlines and the media.
Me about to board the Q400 in Seattle. I should have waved, presidential-style.
I have flown the route from Seattle to Reno many times in my life. From Reno Air back in the day, to Southwest, to America West to Alaska Airlines. The flight is easy, only about 1.5hrs, enough time to take off, get a drink and snacks and start the descent. In April 2008 Horizon Air took over the route for Alaska and since then, they have been the cheapest to fly. I actually prefer the flight on Horizon’s Q400’s versus Alaska’s Boeing 737 (or MD-80’s back in the day).
The main reason is, I love flying in smaller planes. It really lets the passenger connect with the flying experience. I think a lot of people do not like flying on smaller planes just for this reason. Unlike the larger planes, you get to board on the tarmac, which allows you to see the entire plane, not just a few inches around the door when you board in a jetway. The inside of the Q400 is set up in a 2-2 layout, so you always get a window or aisle. Of course I always go for the window, but I am happy to know if I don’t get one, I won’t be stuck in the middle.
Mount Rainier, just outside of Seattle, was one of many mountains you can see on the Seattle to Reno flight.
On this trip I was in a group of four people, which allowed me to get a few photos of me with the plane and even better photos from both sides of the plane while flying. The flight from Seattle to Reno is beautiful. From Mount Rainier to Crater Lake, if it isn’t cloudy, you are in for a real treat. The Q400’s fly quite a bit lower at about 25,000 feet versus 30,000 to 40,000 with larger aircraft and their wings are high, which means everyone has an awesome view.
We all checked in the day before online and only had carry-ons, so we didn’t have to wait in any Horizon lines, just put up with the security ones. Horizon has a semi-hybrid option between carry-on and checking your bags, called Ala Cart. Since the overhead bins are smaller than you would find on larger aircraft, not all carry-ons can fit in them. If yours cannot fit or you don’t want to lug it on the plane you can put your carry-on on a cart while boarding. They will put it on another cart when you arrive at your destination. It’s way quicker than having to wait in baggage claim not to mention, the Ala Cart option is free. If you do need to check your bag, it will cost you $20 per bag, up to 3 bags. Like their sister carrier, Alaska Airlines, Horizon also provides the 20 minute checked baggage guarantee.
Beautiful downtown Reno, just about to land.
Talking about Alaska Airlines, Horizon’s relationship with them is quite unique. Some people think of Horizon as Alaska’s regional carrier, but they are set up very differently. Both airlines have a parent company, Alaska Air Group which owns and manages both airlines. Most regionals fly for a larger airlines for fees and Horizon will sometimes fly for Alaska, but they mostly fly under their own brand. Horizon has their own marketing department, their own ads and unique brand of service. You will see the two airlines share a website together, but both logos are prominently displayed.
One thing that does make Horizon unique is offering free, regional wines and micro-brews, ah yea…can’t miss out on this. Our flight left at 7:40am, but that didn’t stop us from trying out some of that free local wine and beer. I mean, come-on it was the blog right?! Horizon is also offering free snack-packs on their Seattle to Portland flight, but I have yet been able to experience that first hand.
Passengers were able to de-board from the front and back of the Q400, making it super quick. Employees are getting the Ala Cart bags out.
A passenger in our group (we shall call her “Rita”) was a little apprehensive about flying on a smaller aircraft. I know many others out there have that same fear. However, I quickly pointed out that Horizon Air is extremely safe and has never had a fatality since they started flying in 1981 and haven’t had any sort of incident since 1990. That made Rita feel much more comfortable and after the flight she very much loved her Horizon experience (maybe the glass of wine she had at 8am helped too).
The Horizon Q400’s might be a bit slower than jet airliners, but they are much more cost effective and friendly for the environment. Horizon has green stickers on each of their planes touting how green they are and even painted one of their Q400’s entirely green (can you see “Shrek” as they call it here or here?)
I definitely get excited to fly on Horizon and flying on the Q400’s and hope that some of you can feel a bit more at ease flying in smaller planes in the future.
It just looks so easy. This video shows the making of a British Airways Boeing 777-300ER from first parts to first flight. This video is one of the best time-lapse one I have seen with stellar music and an amazing plane staring!
