John Murtha airport – the $150 Million facility for 20 passengers a day

by Scott Carmichael on

Which US airport has a reinforced concrete runway capable of handling any kind of plane in the country, a $14 Million hangar, a $7 Million control tower and an $8 Million radar installation?

No, it isn’t O’Hare or LAX. It’s the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, airport, JST for short.

This disgrace of an airport has been sucking in an insane $150 Million in tax payer money in the past decade, all to serve a measly 20 passengers a day.

In fact, the airport really does not have any real right to exist, because the place is so expensive, that the government has to subsidize every single passenger flying in and out of JST with 100 bucks. That’s right – despite the $150 Million this place already received, the tax payers still need to pay more just to keep it running.

The airport is not really an airport, it’s more of a monument to honor the man behind its name – Rep. John Murtha. Murtha is the man we can all thank for providing the Johnstown-Cambria County areas with such a fantastic facility.

To make the joke even funnier, the airport was just allocated $800,000 in federal stimulus money to repave its alternate runway, just in case they ever get some more air traffic., or if its current main runway can’t handle the heavy load of 6 planes a day (all operated by United Airlines on the Johnstown – Dulles route).

Folks trying to justify the place point out that the airfield also provides a home to several military units, but they forget to mention that all those units fly helicopters, not planes.

Angry rush to cockpit forces Delta flight to land in Boston, not Tel Aviv

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When a Delta Airlines flight left New York for Tel Aviv, the passengers didn’t think they’d be stopping in Boston. After all, though it’s on the way, it’s a bit close to warrant needing to stretch your legs. An angry passenger rushing the cockpit, though, tends to make an emergency landing prudent.

Late last night, Delta Flight 86 boasted 206 passengers – 205 of which were perfectly reasonable. A 22-year-old Israeli man ran to the front of the plane and started to pound on the cockpit door. Passengers and crew put the smack down and subdued the nut-job until landing.

Now, the other passengers are stuck in Boston while an investigation is being conducted and luggage is checked.

As if flying weren’t irritating enough these days …

Fake bomb threat leads to probation

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Mark Randall Rayborn will be on probation for the next four years. He was accused of telling an off-duty Northwest Airlines pilot that he had five pounds of explosives in his carry-on.

The plane was pulling back from the gate at Denver International Airport last year when Rayborn broke the news to the man sitting next to him while grabbing his bag. As a result of this episode, the flight was delayed for four hours while bomb-sniffing dogs searched the plane. All 140 passengers were screened again.

The 56-year-old gump responsible for making air travel even more difficult will celebrate his 60th birthday with the thought that he’s repaid his debt to society. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like enough.

Egypt bound Aircraft fails to take off not once, but three times

by Scott Carmichael on

What was supposed to be a fun holiday flight from Gatwick to Taba in Egypt turned into a bit of a nightmare for the passengers.

During its take off procedure, the pilot of a Monarch Airbus A300 had to slam the brakes and return to the gate.

Now, I’ve experienced this a couple of time before, and while it isn’t exactly fun, it’s not a life altering experience.

What makes this event different is that the plane went through this takeoff and abort routine another two times.

That’s right – the poor passengers went through the hassle of an aborted take off THREE times!

Each time, the plane went back to the gate, got a part replaced, and tried again. Eventually, after an eight and a half hour delay, the passengers were on their way to their destination.

One of the passengers reported that “People were really scared because we had come so close to taking off, which could have been disastrous”.

Cremated remains missing from passengers luggage – TSA says “oops”

by Scott Carmichael on

Several days ago, I wrote about an airline passenger who arrived home to discover that his shock absorbers had been removed from his luggage, and replaced with a note from the TSA letting him know they had inspected his bags.

Today’s episode is far more disturbing – a passenger flying on Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Denver arrived at her destination, only to discover that the cremated remains of her mother were no longer in her plastic urn.

The container itself was still there, but it was empty, and like the other incident, the only evidence was a note left by the TSA letting her know they had inspected her checked bag.

The TSA at Sea-Tac airport is now worried that a screener “made an error” and removed the contents of the container. They are attempting to track down the screener, to find out what happened to the remains, and what prompted them to empty the container.

Initially, the passenger blamed herself, and was worried that she was to blame for the incident, but she followed the TSA regulations for carrying cremated remains, and the TSA web site clearly states that under no circumstances will they open the container.

Fingers crossed that the TSA finds the remains, or the mother of this poor lady will be laid to rest in the bottom of a trash can at Sea-Tac airport.

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