Originally Posted by
Nevets
DGS and Regional Elite would probably have been fined under different regulations that pertain to them. Your argument is strictly a technical one and not one on the merits of the case. The fact of the matter is that all three air carriers made mistakes and so all three are being held accountable. In Mesaba's case, they were wrong to not allow passengers to deplane, (especially when they had accepted the responsibility to ground handle the flight).
Which means in the future no carrier will ever except responsibility for another carriers flight. They will just say no. Mesaba made no money from this flight yet was held liable for payments that amount to 3 yearly salaries of an FO. Think another airline will ever try to help out another airline again? Now where does XJet divert to? At which point does this become a safety issue? I think Mesaba should have been penalized but for some reason something doesn't seem quite right. Mesaba had nothing to gain from this situation and everything to lose.