Continental Airlines Dash-8 Q400 Image: lindsaywp
I notice I seem to avoid having to write about stories in the news that aren’t so positive in the airline business. I know those of us interested or that work in this business hate to see when a plane goes down and lives are lost.
Flight 3407, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, crashed at about 10pm on February 12th. It crashed into some houses, killing a 61-year old man who was home at the time and all 48 people (44 passengers, 4 crew) that were aboard the plane.
It appears at this point the plane lost forward momentum and came down flat on its belly. Some indicators are pointing to icing that was reported before the crash.
Even though ice could turn out to be the main factor of this, the Dash 8 is well known to handle the ice well and ability to get through almost anything. From what is reported now, it seems this accident happened very quickly, giving very little opprotunity for the pilots to save the doomed plane.
My thoughts go out to the families of those affected by this tragic loss.
Aeroflot-Nord Boeing 737. Image: Osdu
Last September an Aeroflot-Nord Boeing 737-500 crashed and killed all 88 on board. The final report released today shows that the pilot lost “spatial orientation”, banking the plane on its left wing, causing rapid decent into the ground.
It seems the pilot had been overworked, drinking alcohol, and not trained well on the Boeing’s altitude indicator as he should. All Boeing 737 flights have been suspended until additional training can be had by the pilots.
After the crash Aeroflot severed links with Aeroflot-Nord and required they remove all the company branding — probably a very smart move considering what happened.
What the blog looks like now, but I am sure I will play with the look more!
There have been some changes to TheAirlineBlog.com. There is now a new look and format to the blog. You can now reply to other’s comments and have your own profile, a better layout, and I just think it is more awesome!
Unfortunately I am having to manually move over all the blog posts from the old format (which I am slowly doing), but I think all the short-term headache will be worth the long-term benefits of the new look!
What do you think?
I have always taken advantage of the e-check-in before it became something that everyone does. Now that everyone else is doing it, I want to feel more hip and technologically superior!
I might not have to wait very long. Delta, Continental and American Airlines are rolling out mobile ticketing, which allows travelers to have a barcode sent to their phone that can be scanned as a normal boarding pass.
Phones are sent an encrypted bar code with your normal flight information. TSA agents are able to scan these barcodes and verify you are authorized to move forward.
I look forward to using this technology soon and once ahead be one step above my fellow passengers!
