American Airlines Story. Pretty Interesting

[scottkin]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/a...h-missing.html Read some of the emails below the pictures.

[SGTD]

Thats what happens when you divert your money away from maintence. It happens and that FA is really stupid " I will never fly with him again he risked my life", shut up and give me a soda, and let the pilot fly the damn plane.

[tommyalf]

Thats what happens when you divert your money away from maintence. It happens and that FA is really stupid " I will never fly with him again he risked my life", shut up and give me a soda, and let the pilot fly the damn plane.

What proof do you have that this is because money was diverted away from MX? Only three weeks ago a US Air 757 lost a panel. These things are machines and this stuff happens. I'm rather confident in AA's ability to maintain its fleet of aircraft. The last thing an airline the size of AA needs right now is to be caught taking shortcuts on MX and have it lead to an accident.

As for the FA...she should be fired plain and simple. She's acting as an agent for the company spreading unfounded rubbish that's simply not true. If AA sacked her it would be of her own doing. Let the professionals do their job and investigate why this took place and then lay blame where it truly belongs.

[cegro27]

What proof do you have that this is because money was diverted away from MX? Only three weeks ago a US Air 757 lost a panel. These things are machines and this stuff happens. I'm rather confident in AA's ability to maintain its fleet of aircraft. The last thing an airline the size of AA needs right now is to be caught taking shortcuts on MX and have it lead to an accident.

As for the FA...she should be fired plain and simple. She's acting as an agent for the company spreading unfounded rubbish that's simply not true. If AA sacked her it would be of her own doing. Let the professionals do their job and investigate why this took place and then lay blame where it truly belongs.

Well, exactly what part of her story is untrue?...The part about feeling like her life was being put in jeopardy, or about there being a big hole in the bottom of the plane...or maybe the part about the captain continuing on with the flight, or that he/she wasn't asked to contribute to an incident report? Look, this person is entitled to having an opinion, it's not like they blasted the airline all over the tv news and in every major newspaper in the country.

[SGTD]

Gotcha I understand that these are machines, but more and more of this has happened in the past few years I dont blame the MX, but rather blame the higher ups for trying to do too much with too little......

[P3_Super_Bee]

Gotcha I understand that these are machines, but more and more of this has happened in the past few years I dont blame the MX, but rather blame the higher ups for trying to do too much with too little......

You'd be surprised... The Navy had a program called TFOA (Things Fall off Aircraft) They did away with it because the reporting of the incident could be filed under a Hazard Report, so no need for a stand alone program. Mechanical things break period. There is nothing you can do to stop it. Things will continue to fall off aircraft until we quit flying them.

The panel shown in the picture was not a structual panel, nothing more to help airflow. This flight lost a couple miles to the gallon in fuel costs because it was missing.

[tommyalf]

Well, exactly what part of her story is untrue?...The part about feeling like her life was being put in jeopardy, or about there being a big hole in the bottom of the plane...or maybe the part about the captain continuing on with the flight, or that he/she wasn't asked to contribute to an incident report? Look, this person is entitled to having an opinion, it's not like they blasted the airline all over the tv news and in every major newspaper in the country.

Who said the story was untrue? However I do not feel an FA has the proper training nor authority over a Capt and the FO. The Capt and the FO according to reports followed the SOP and made a decision to continue on with the flight. Simply because the FA's panties got a bit ruffled is no cause to turn a plane around.

[cegro27]

Who said the story was untrue? However I do not feel an FA has the proper training nor authority over a Capt and the FO. The Capt and the FO according to reports followed the SOP and made a decision to continue on with the flight. Simply because the FA's panties got a bit ruffled is no cause to turn a plane around.

Following SOP would only be valid "if" the flight deck actually "knew" what the problem was, and they didn't, or they would've reported it after it happened...and it's pretty clear they didn't. The F/A heard and felt something that was, at best, abnormal. It was reported to the Captain, but no follow up was done after it was determined that the abnormality didn't show up on any of the cockpit instruments or advisory/warning panels. That doesn't automatically mean that a serious problem doesn't still exist. Pax have been known to drive F/A's crazy, but I don't think this woman was that crazy to realize something wasn't right.

And besides looking good, taking crap, and serving drinks and snacks, F/As are able (and trained) to be alert for any safety related concerns that may pop up, in which the flgiht deck crew may not be aware of. As you stated, aircraft are machines, and that loud noise could've easily been something more serious that would'nt have alerted the pilots, had an F/A not been vigilant enough to report it. It should've been treated as such by the Captain.

[screaming_emu]

Stuff falls off planes....stuff is taken off of airplanes. I'd say about 10% of our CRJ700s here are missing one or more gear doors. They break a lot and its easier just to take 'em off and CDL it.

[FlyingPhotog]

It used to be the only thing falling off planes was "blue ice"

[T.O.G.A.]

In the absence of alarms or alerts and flight handling issues, the captain probably looked in the maintenace log and saw that work was performed in that bay and figured, at worse, the panel ripped off. My money says Maintenance Control had a borrowed panel waiting for the aircraft. It only takes the two forward latches to be improperly latched before a panel like that becomes an air scoop.

[tsv]

Gotta love the idiots in the forum below the link who suggest the aircraft would have crashed if it were not made in the USA!

Probably just kids I guess but why does national pride so frequently separate people from their brain cells?