That is AirTran Capt Greg Cleath on the right and he is not a fan of lasers on landing.
In Seattle, WA (where I live) there has been someone with too much time and a laser causing havoc with airliners. Over the past few months there have been about 2 dozen incidents. Mostly with a green laser, but more recently there has been a red. Either the same person is trying out a new laser or someone else thought it was neato to play with people’s lives and join in on the fun.
Although it is highly likely this person enjoys being talked about in the media, this got me wondering how often something like this happens.
There haven’t been any incidents so far, but being distracted while landing a plane with possibly hundreds of people on board is not a good situation.
This isn’t an isolated incident; it actually happens quite often, however, nothing beyond pilots complaining of damaged vision has been reported.
In June 2004, CNN reported that when pilots were exposed to a laser during a simulation, 67% experienced “adverse visual effects” and with a high powered level lasers, nine landings were aborted.
Although this has mostly been just annoying, I really don’t know how someone could live with themselves if they caused an airplane to crash. Many in the Seattle area speculate the local perp might be upset and protesting the new third runway.
Thanks to Dorothy from Ireland for the tip!
Source: KOMO Image: TheAirlineBlog.com
Oops, luggage isn't supposed to go there.
Japan Airlines flight 61 from LAX to Japan was just pulling back from the gate, when its left outboard engine sucked an empty container that was being driven too close to the jet. This Boeing 747-400 has about 60,000 lpf thrust which can create a lot of sucking power. The container is about 5′ x 5′ x 4′ but looks quite small while parked inside the engine. The passengers had to be unloaded and the plane was taken for inspection.
Source: LA Times Image: Jaunted
Lufthansa Airbus A320-211 D-AIQM Nordenham
A Lufthansa Airlines flight from Munich to Lisbon encountered quite a big of turbulance and had to make an unscheduled landing in Geneva so 12 passengers and 2 crew members could be treated for their injuries.
Four people from the Airbus 320 were hospitalized, while the others were treated at the Geneva airport. A replacement aircraft took the remainder of the passengers to Lisbon.
Source: MSNBC Image: Thomas Becker
United Airlines Boeing 777-222 N772UA is on short final
“Man this flight is gonna bite,” is along the lines of something I say when I find myself in the middle seat. But on a recent United Airlines flight from LA to London, a woman decided to do some biting on her own. After enjoying some nice prescription drugs, wine, and (my personal favorite) liquid soap, she got aggressive with the flight crew and acted “like a dog.”
The flight was diverted to Bangor where the unruly passenger gets to face federal charges of assault and interference with a flight crew.
Source: Boston Herald Image: Thomas Becker
People lining up at Seattle's Airport before the Starbucks opens
A frequent 8yr old flier who flies regularly from Washington state to Kentucky had an interesting experience. She was flying on a Northwest Airlines flight and her parents paid an extra $100 each way for their unaccompanied minor program (someone supervises the child from parent to parent). The child complained of being tired, so the supervising Northwest employee told her to get a large coffee at Starbucks and made her pay using her own money.
Sure, there might be some out there who say a little coffee for a child won’t do any harm, but I doubt anyone can say a large coffee is a good thing for a child.
The excess of caffeine caused her to get sick and she had to make use of the “courtesy bags.” By the time she arrived in Seattle, WA it was obvious to her mother something was wrong, “She was pale, shaking and talking a lot.”
Northwest is investigating, and of course states they take the care of unaccompanied minors very seriously. Although this sounds like a story where it is easy to get upset at Northwest Airlines, I would like to give them and their employees the benefit of the doubt, since we know that sometimes kids can exaggerate stories, especially when it keeps them out of trouble!
Source: NWCN Image: dcortesi