Continental Boeing 767-200 much like the one involved in this incident.
Continental airlines flight 128 from Brazil to Texas hit a bad patch of turbulence, injuring over 30 passengers. The Boeing 767 was about six hours into its flight when all of a sudden the aircraft lost altitude. Passenger Fabio Ottolini stated, “People didn’t have time to do anything.” He stated that flight attendants were in the middle of service when the incident occurred, causing some to hit the ceiling. The aircraft landed in Miami where 13 people were taken to local hospitals and four were seriously injured.
This is reminder that everyone should keep their seatbelts on while in flight. Yes, it is very tempting to take the belt off, but it is never worth the risk. The Science Christian Monitor reports that from 1980 to June 2004, airlines in the United States had 198 turbulence accidents, resulting in 266 serious injuries and three fatalities. The three fatalities resulted in passengers not wearing their seatbelt, while the fasten seatbelt sign was illuminated.
For updates on this story, check out Ben Mutzabaugh’s blog, Today in the Sky.
Image: sohvimus
The livery is to celebrate Continental Airlines’ 75th anniversary which happens on July 15th.
Continental Employees voted this to be their celebratory livery which was first introduced in the 1940’s.
Image: Rick Schlamp
AIM 120 AMRAAM Model Rocket
In early June a Continental Airlines Commuter jet had a close encounter. While flying out of Houston, they saw a missile-like object flying at about 16,000 feet. At first the six foot long object was heading towards the aircraft, but fortunately veered off. This near miss happened almost exactly one year after a similar occurrence in the same Texas county.
It is now believed to be a model rocket fired from a hobbyist on the ground. Even though there was no immediate danger to the plane, it still could have turned out terrible if the rocket would have hit the plane and obviously caused a distraction of the pilots. Model rockets of this size require a permit to launch in Texas.
Source: KAUZ Image: karl.simpson
Airline cabin -- where all the action happens. Pic by The Airline Blog
The annual survey of frequent fliers conducted by Seatguru.com is out and it doesn’t look so great for some domestic airlines compared to their international counterparts. About 1,600 frequent travelers (most of whom fly 8 or more times per year) were asked to rate their airline experiences.
When a domestic airline actually serves a meal, it is rated among the lowest. Meals on United Airlines, US Airways, and American Airlines fared the worst. The best were Singapore, British Airways, Air France, and Continental Airlines (the only U.S. airline to make the top 4).
American, United, and US Airways are seen again on the bottom for comfort in economy class seats, while JetBlue made it to the top of the list.
Unfortunately for American, United, and US Airways they also topped the list for “rudest flight attendants” while Singapore and Southwest Airlines made top marks.
Matthew Daimler, founder of Seatguru.com stated, “Domestic airlines have been making strides in recent years to better compete with international airlines, but it is clear that they still have a ways to go in the eyes of fliers.”
Other interesting results:
* 13% of fliers say they have knowingly transported banned items through secuirty
* When asked which celebrities a person would want to sit next to, 56% said none
* 42% are willing to shell out 10% more for more legroom
* 26% think the front of the plane is the safest, 17% middle, and 6% the back.
* 17% of travelers self-medicate before a flight
Source: Seatguru.com
A Continental Airlines Boeing 777 landing at Newark
Details are still sparse, but what is known is a pilot died on Continental Airlines flight 61 from Brussels to Newark. The plane landed safely at Newark.
Yes, having a pilot die during the flight is never a good thing. However, the flight had two co-pilots who were more than qualified to land the plane. The plane was even able to land at its original destination.
Why is the media covering this story so much? Is the coverage related to the Air France flight 447 crash? It seems the mainstream media is picking up on any little plane incident since the Air France accident. Yes, stories like this are interesting, but it can become bothersome when it causes fear in readers about flying.
I wish all the best for the family of the pilot, but I hope everyone else realizes the plane was safe and co-pilots (even if there was only one) are trained to take over and safely land the plane.
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Image: hornet517
