Originally Posted by
11Fan
JetDoc,
Perhaps I misjudged you based on your opening comments. The suggestion "most of you" was a pretty broad statement. That and I'm always a little suspicious when a story is centered around a legitimate procedure but spun in such a way that is misleading to someone unfamiliar with the strict requirements for a ferry flight. I would be curious to know what the "unusually low altitude" was. Unusual, compared to a revenue flight?
I would think that AA mx control was worried that the aft pressure bulkhead would not hold if the aircraft was pressuized, so they ferried to Tulsa, unpressurized below 12,000. It seems as though all the manpower reductions and penny pinching for hefty management bonuses has caught up with the airlines. The FAA is not a proactive but more a reactive entity. The FAA got caught with their pants down for being lax on or not doing inspections, so now they're playing catch up and nit picking every little thing. The grounded 4 of my aircraft in JFK for chipped paint!
