8Lpearlchannel

Read on...

Feds: Stranded passengers' crew not to blame | StarTribune.com

blastoff

DOT Press release

DOT 127-09
Friday, August 21, 2009
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-4570



STATEMENT BY U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD ON CONCLUSION OF THE PRELIMINARY PHASE OF THE CONTINENTAL TARMAC DELAY INVESTIGATION

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that his department has concluded the preliminary phase of its investigation into the Aug. 8 tarmac delay by Continental Airlines on a flight operated by ExpressJet Airlines. Passengers were stranded in a plane on the ground in Rochester, MN from 12:28 a.m. to about 6:00 a.m. with only pretzels provided by the carrier to eat.

“We have determined that the Express Jet crew was not at fault. In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them,” Secretary LaHood said.

“The local representative of Mesaba Airlines improperly refused the requests of the captain to let her passengers off the plane. The representative incorrectly said that the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons, which led to this nightmare for those stuck on the plane,” he said.

Mesaba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

The representative of Mesaba – the only carrier able to assist Continental at the airport – said that the airport was closed to passengers, apparently because there was no one from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) available to screen passengers. In fact, TSA procedures allow passengers to get off the plane, enter the terminal and re-board without being screened again as long as they remain in a sterile area.

“There was a complete lack of common sense here,” Secretary LaHood said. “It’s no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated.”

Members of the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office interviewed passengers, the flight crew, airport personnel and others with knowledge of the situation. They also listened to audio recordings from the aircraft and the dispatcher. In addition, Continental’s customer service commitment, contingency plan for flight delays and contract of carriage were reviewed.

“This is one of the most thorough investigations ever conducted by the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office,” LaHood said.

The Aviation Enforcement Office is considering the appropriate action to take against Mesaba as it completes the investigation, which it expects to conclude within a few weeks. The Department has proposed regulations requiring airlines to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and to incorporate these plans in their contract of carriage, and asked for comment on whether it should set a uniform standard of time after which carriers would be required to allow passengers to deplane. The findings from this investigation will be used to help formulate a final rule that will provide better protection for airline passengers.

Finally, the preliminary investigation showed that while the crew of the ExpressJet flight did all it could to assist the passengers, more senior personnel within Continental or ExpressJet should have become involved in an effort to obtain permission to take the passengers off the plane.

dba74

This is good news for the crew, but as some other posters have stated in another thread, they could have maybe tried the FBO option. Maybe they did look into it. Or what about the bus that was going to MSP and offered to take them? We shall see

Da808er

The sad thing is that the Mesaba representative will probably, if not already, get fired, go work at a Home Depot or something and be making more money.......

blastoff

Imagine the good press we would've had (and the FBO) if the crew had taken the jet to the FBO, called ahead and had them fire up the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie machine, and had pax singing our praises.

Onfinal

Doesn't matter. Air Carrier 1 turned its back on Air Carrier 2 while in a state of distress. Unacceptable no matter what way you try to spin it. It's like the open sea...you don't leave someone stranded and afloat on the open sea even if it's your sworn enemy. That terminal is public property, and the airport ultimately belongs to, and is funded by, the people of the United States.

Not to mention, here are the dangers of having easily replaced 10 dollar an hour people work in crtical decision making positions.

TPROP4ever

I sincerely hope in light of this that all those on APC that were lambasting and bashing the crew and the Female Capt. specifically, are embarrased for all their idiocy. Once again we learn the hard way, dont ever monday morning quaterback any flight crew when you dont really know what happened, but are relying on a newspaper article.....sad

here is a link to audio released of the Captain talking with dispatch
http://www.startribune.com/audio/539...nDaycUiacyKUUr
And even worse after Delta said they tried to help listen to this...seems Delta wasnt forthcoming with the media the day this story broke....WOW
http://www.startribune.com/audio/539...nDaycUiacyKUUr

freezingflyboy

This mirrors what I've heard here on the XJT end since the incident. At the risk of "monday morning quarterbacking", and maybe there were far more cards stacked against the crew than has been presented (for example, XJT ERJs do not have airstairs and would have needed external stairs or a jetway) but at what point as a crew member, especially captains, do you say "enough BS, this is what is going to happen." I know for me personally, after about hour two of being stonewalled by ground ops in RST in the middle of the night with no food or drinks, poopy babies and overflowing lavs I would have been getting creative with some commandeering of equipment. If Mesaba or the TSA or airport authority want to raise a stink, fine. I'll see you in court. I think all too often in this job we get too caught up in "not getting in trouble" vs. doing whats right.

ewrbasedpilot

And now that the WHOLE story is out, how do those who crucified the crew without knowing the whole story feel? Personally, I would have done things a bit different, but since we didn't know the "rest of the story", it was hard to make any judgements. It now appears the crew did everything they could given the circumstances they were presented with. The FBO option may not have been available to them as many seem to suggest. So, in the end, my hat is now off to the crew for doing what they did.......which seems to have been RIGHT. As my father used to always say: "don't go accusing someone of doing something unless you are 100% sure YOU are right".

Airsupport

I wasn't one of the people who "crucified" the captain but this story doesn't change how I feel. It just moves some of the blame around. Like others have said its easy to monday night quarter back after all is said and done but the captain should have told the ground agents and the disptatchers what she was GOING to do. I would have listened to dispatch and the ramp people for maybe at the most 3 hours. After that its over. Time for PIC authority to come into play, hang up the phone, and get the people off the plane. Also some knowledge about how airports worked would have helped. Once an air terminal is closed there is no way out with out a badge or the police. So the terminal is sterile. They could have let the people roam free inside the airport because it is a secure area. I had the joy of doing this in COS once. You let them out. Tell them they cant have their checked bags till ground personell arrive and let them know once they go out side the gates they will not be allowed back to the plane.

The one good thing that has come out of this is that it has made it easier for the rest of us to get things done to avoid this mess in the future.