tortue

Incident: United Airlines B772 near Toronto on Jan 3rd 2011, spilled coffee causes loss of communication

lakehouse

stop with the bad press people.ugh, I feel like every week its something, on the laptop, asleep, drunk, spilling coffee, taking the airplane way too high on a ferry flt, all this stuff is really not good for the masses of pilots.

Photon

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UnlimitedAkro

Coffee spill diverts United Airlines flight, Transport Canada says - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Don't underestimate the power of a spilled cup of coffee.
A United Airlines flight from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany, was diverted to Toronto this week after the pilot dumped a cup of coffee on the plane's communication's equipment. The unwanted liquid triggered a series of emergency codes, including one for a hijacking, according to Transport Canada, the agency that regulates transportation in Canada.
"With the help of their company dispatch staff, the flight crew was confirmed the problem to be a NAV(navigation)/communication issue and not a valid code 7500 (for a hijacking or unlawful interference)," Transport Canada said on its website.
Flight 940 initially was going to return to Chicago, but then diverted to Pearson International Airport in Toronto where it landed without incident around 10 p.m. Monday.
United had little to say about the coffee spill that led to the diversion, and did not acknowledge that the caffeinated beverage had anything to do with it.
"Our review of the communications issue encountered on flight 940 continues, so it's too soon to comment on any particulars that led to the captain's decision to divert," United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said late Tuesday. "But important to note the crew did maintain contact with controllers, and the decision to divert to Toronto was the captain's."
The Boeing 777 had 255 passengers and crew aboard. United retrieved them from Toronto and took them back to Chicago where they were put on another plane to Frankfurt Tuesday afternoon.

Flyby1206

Poor little guy needs a sippy cup for his coffee

Homa

Outstanding! Just outstanding! I can see my airline putting out a bulletin today about no beverages in the cockpit unless it's bottled water. For being professional aviators and supposedly having good motor skills, it sure seems that some among our ranks are total klutzes when it comes to handling a cup of coffee or juice.

At my previous airline, we almost lost an airplane because the previous crew had spilled OJ on the center console and hadn't reported it. They handed the airplane off to another crew and went home. The juice made its way to the autopilot circuitry and commanded a pitch up. It was due to the superb skill and quick thinking of the CA & FO that the plane didn't end up stalling & spinning in.

dba74

At least it wasn't beer. Would be much harder to explain.

iPilot

Dude, we're all human. I think every pilot has come close to dropping a drink once in their life. I'm always a bit amazed the aircraft manufacturers don't make the consoles at least a little bit liquid resistant.

Ok that's just stupid. If I spill something, I write it up. However that said I don't think I should be read the riot act for an honest mistake. I know what coffee will do to electronics, so it's not like I'm just throwing coffee around for fun.

SpeedyVagabond

Huh? I thought it was pretty normal to disconnect an autopilot and or trim system if it's malfunctioning. Furthermore, isn't it pretty well accepted that if the airplane pitches up uncommanded we take control and re-command it back to what we'd like it to do? I guess I just don't see this as a superb Bob Hoover like display of airmanship. I suppose in our current state of ever declining standards we could say attaboy for not pulling further back on the yoke.

XHooker

I had an FA drop a closed can of Coke on the corner of the center console. Bottle a carbonated beverage at sea level, puncture it at about 7,000 MSL, and you get a Coke grenade. Spray everywhere... my uniform... the instrument panels... and most importantly, it shorted out one of the comm radio heads and the printer. Had it gotten to either the engine or cargo fire systems, I had a divert on my hands. Long story short... stuff happens.