United to cancel 777 flights today

by Grant Martin on

Has the FAA been bringing the pain super fast lately? Last week we saw hundreds of cancellations on American Airlines and Delta Airlines flights because of potential issues with wiring harnesses underneath the aircraft. The issue was solely on their MD-80 aircraft, each carrier grounded a few flights, checked out the problem and everything got rolling again. What caused the inspections, however, was a flag raised by the FAA questioning the methodology of the inspections, not dissimilar to warnings raised earlier on Southwest 737s.

Now, United Airlines has discovered that one of the tests to check the fire suppression systems in their Boeing 777 cargo holds hasn’t been run properly, so they’re cycling all of those aircraft in to make inspections. Thirty one of the eighty four scheduled flights in total were canceled.

Why the sudden spate of aircraft groundings for maintenance checks? It might have to do with increased attention to aircraft maintenance issues as a result of the Southwest incident a few weeks back. Airlines are now probably scrambling to double and triple check their records to make sure that everything is up to snuff as the FAA and congress clamp down on quality.

A congressional hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday, at which point we’ll probably hear much more on United and maintenance checks in general, and what our fair politicians plan to do to keep things running smoothly. We’ll let you know how that goes.

Aloha Airlines to end passenger service Monday

by Jamie Rhein on

Grant’s post about Aloha Airlines filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy wasn’t exactly the sound of a death knell, but since then, the airline has decided to call it quits on passenger service. After Monday, as in March 31, according to this AP article, there will be no more passenger reservations taken.

Those who have Aloha Airlines tickets already may be rerouted on United Airlines flights to the mainland or on Hawaiian Airlines if travel is between the islands. Those who don’t want those options, but who want their money back instead, can file in bankruptcy court. I don’t envy people who are left to sort out their travel plans on such short notice. Hopefully, they saw this coming. The Aloha Airlines Web site does have links to help passengers rebook.

The demise of the airline that has been around since 1946 is due to unfair competition and rising fuel costs the airline’s money folks say. I feel bad that Aloha Airlines hasn’t been able to continue. The first time I went to Hawaii, I flew Aloha Airlines from Oahu to The Big Island on a package deal. It was much cheaper than I had imagined it would be. The rental car and two nights in a hotel was included. The best thing about arranging for the trip was that we were able to set it up after we were already visiting my relatives on Oahu. For people who travel within Hawaii, I bet they are bummed.

The shipping function of Aloha Airlines is being taken over by a Seattle-based company. Maybe people could package themselves up as a way to get off the island with their unused tickets? In case you’re one of the one affected, here’s a link with questions and answers.

Two jets collide at San Francisco airport

by Catherine Bodry on

It’s finally happened: after a year of reports on near misses, overworked air traffic controllers and airports as clogged as a teenager’s pores, two jets finally bumped into each other.

Despite the dramatic headline, it was actually a gentle collision and there were no injuries. The accident happened at San Francisco International Airport when two airplanes being pushed by “tugs” backed in to each other. One was a United Airlines 757 and the other was a SkyWest commuter jet. Good thing it was only a gentle bump, because that 757 could totally beat the commuter jet up.

Maybe this will be the collision that fires everyone up and makes the skies (or taxiways, or runways) safer.

Good thing an Airbus A380 wasn’t involved! We’d sure hate to hear about a disturbance on such a peaceful flight.
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Related: Obama’s plane clips another aircraft at Midway Airport

Eight mice found – dead and alive – on United Airlines flight

by Catherine Bodry on

If something runs over your foot on your next flight, beware: it might not be the beverage cart.

In a reversal of roles, the United States nearly imported its own tainted goods to China on a United Airlines flight recently. While en route to China, United employees discovered a total of eight mice — some dead, some alive — hidden in pillows throughout the cabin. On arrival, Chinese officials greeted the plane with rat poison and mouse traps.

The story was printed in newspapers yesterday, along with lists of viruses mice can carry. The articles also probably incited panic when they wrote of the potentially fatal damage mice could do by chewing through wires on aircraft.

Could these tiny creatures be more dangerous than the terrorists?

Think that’s bad? Check out some other unpleasant flight experiences. How rotten would it be flying…

[Thanks to Joshua Davis (articnomad) for the great shot of a plane.]

Near-collision videos show need for updated airport safety technology

by Catherine Bodry on

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released dramatic animation of two runway near-collisions, in order to promote the need for improvements in runway safety. The re-creation was based on radar and flight data recorder information from the planes involved.

The video includes audio from an air traffic controller yelling “stop! stop! stop!” to a United plane as it begins to taxi onto a runway where a Delta flight is landing. The planes came within 230 feet of each other. In another situation, one plane lands while another is taking off on a perpendicular runway. The leaving flight is able to lift off early while the landing flight hit the breaks and stops in the middle of the runway. The planes avoided a collision by as little as 30 feet.

The animations were presented at the annual NTSB board meeting, where the agency reviews its most transportation safety concerns.

Read the full article and watch the video on CNN.com.