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Not really, but this incident is a good summary of the status of the company amongst the fights between the Argentinian State (the factual operator and financial supporter), Marsans Group (the legal owners) and the 17 unions, all confronted one with each other.
Sorry for the google translation. I edited it only in some critical cases where the automatic translation was misleading. I also highlighted a few things. The original (in Spanish) here:
Sorry for the google translation. I edited it only in some critical cases where the automatic translation was misleading. I also highlighted a few things. The original (in Spanish) here:
Crisis in Aerolineas Argentinas
The incredible story of the flight was delayed 23 hours
At Ezeiza Airport, mechanical failure, neglect caused the delay and excuses; last night left for Spain
A starter motor failed and had to be replaced. Distracted, a flight attendant opened the right door without disconnecting the emergency inflatable slide, which was scattered on the track to the surprise of passengers. One pilot said he had intestinal problems and could not fly.
The interior lights flickered. Someone forgot to leave the flight manifest, necessary documentation, and forced the aircraft to return when they were about to take off. Aghast at the picture, and insults, 27 passengers asked to get down, and they did.
Airplane III? No, an Aerolineas Argentinas flight that was to leave the night before last from Ezeiza to Madrid with 340 passengers, but did so after 23 hours. Each problem in this story of intrigue multiplied delays on the Boeing 747-400 (Jumbo). A clumsy allegory of the times of the company nationalized a year ago, which in July lost 10 million pesos (2.6 million USD) per day.
Furious, Mariano Recalde, president of the airline, called yesterday afternoon to Jorge Perez Tamayo, the head of the Union of Airline Pilots (APLA). "Don't piss me off," said the unionist. "There was a mechanical problem. We do not do covert action. When we want to protest, we declare a strike and stop all flights, not one in a hidden way."
The airline does not say, but suspects of the unions. There were too many coincidences. A year ago, at the end of the Marsans group management, there were pilots stomach troubles too. For example, the day when 16 flights did not leave because of that. The industry officials say is a great excuse, because it supports, without serious consequences, sending a company doctor at home.
The jumbo was to start near the 21 but was delayed by a faulty auxiliary power unit, a device that is used for starting engines. He then appealed to a generator, but neither was solved immediately. It was the moment when the passengers were frightened to see that the interior lights flickered.
The plane finally started moving on the track. But shooting in the street, someone remarked that he had not delivered the documents to the Air Force and all back to the position of shipment. Told La Nacion passengers, several of them went into a panic. "It's going to happen as with the Air France plane!" Compared one. The cries, 27 asked to get off. The crew tried to convince them that was not serious. "Impossible" they insisted and got the door open to them. Each bag had to detect, causing further delays.
It was hot. Faced with so many claims, an assistant took another step in the wrong: he opened the right door, the opposite of income from users, but forgot to unplug the device that activates the emergency chute. Once opened, pick it can take more than two hours. This is what happened. And it was so late that expired on schedule for the crew. The flight was rescheduled for 16:00 next day, some people moved to their homes and hotels for those living away.
At this point, the versions differ. Some company executives say there was no back-up pilots. Others, like Perez Tamayo, said there was a back-up commander and the company did not call. They finally called a pilot who had the day off.
Takeoff happy? Not so: a last-minute failure of a valve of another engine to slow things down again. The jumbo jet took off yesterday, amid applause and ironies of passengers, close to 20.
Like all in Aerolíneas, the facts are confusing and allegations are several. "It was a technical fault," said Perez-Tamayo. "There is no covert action. Everything we do we do in the face." The company reaffirmed: "It was an engine failure. I had no power to boot. It was resolved".
But Ricardo Cirielli, from the Union of Aeronautical Technical Staff, hinted suspicions: "Mechanical problems may have meant, at most, half an hour. And the remaining 22 hours? Why the flight was rescheduled for 16:00 next day and not for the morning? To me so many things are suspicious."
The incredible story of the flight was delayed 23 hours
At Ezeiza Airport, mechanical failure, neglect caused the delay and excuses; last night left for Spain
A starter motor failed and had to be replaced. Distracted, a flight attendant opened the right door without disconnecting the emergency inflatable slide, which was scattered on the track to the surprise of passengers. One pilot said he had intestinal problems and could not fly.
The interior lights flickered. Someone forgot to leave the flight manifest, necessary documentation, and forced the aircraft to return when they were about to take off. Aghast at the picture, and insults, 27 passengers asked to get down, and they did.
Airplane III? No, an Aerolineas Argentinas flight that was to leave the night before last from Ezeiza to Madrid with 340 passengers, but did so after 23 hours. Each problem in this story of intrigue multiplied delays on the Boeing 747-400 (Jumbo). A clumsy allegory of the times of the company nationalized a year ago, which in July lost 10 million pesos (2.6 million USD) per day.
Furious, Mariano Recalde, president of the airline, called yesterday afternoon to Jorge Perez Tamayo, the head of the Union of Airline Pilots (APLA). "Don't piss me off," said the unionist. "There was a mechanical problem. We do not do covert action. When we want to protest, we declare a strike and stop all flights, not one in a hidden way."
The airline does not say, but suspects of the unions. There were too many coincidences. A year ago, at the end of the Marsans group management, there were pilots stomach troubles too. For example, the day when 16 flights did not leave because of that. The industry officials say is a great excuse, because it supports, without serious consequences, sending a company doctor at home.
The jumbo was to start near the 21 but was delayed by a faulty auxiliary power unit, a device that is used for starting engines. He then appealed to a generator, but neither was solved immediately. It was the moment when the passengers were frightened to see that the interior lights flickered.
The plane finally started moving on the track. But shooting in the street, someone remarked that he had not delivered the documents to the Air Force and all back to the position of shipment. Told La Nacion passengers, several of them went into a panic. "It's going to happen as with the Air France plane!" Compared one. The cries, 27 asked to get off. The crew tried to convince them that was not serious. "Impossible" they insisted and got the door open to them. Each bag had to detect, causing further delays.
It was hot. Faced with so many claims, an assistant took another step in the wrong: he opened the right door, the opposite of income from users, but forgot to unplug the device that activates the emergency chute. Once opened, pick it can take more than two hours. This is what happened. And it was so late that expired on schedule for the crew. The flight was rescheduled for 16:00 next day, some people moved to their homes and hotels for those living away.
At this point, the versions differ. Some company executives say there was no back-up pilots. Others, like Perez Tamayo, said there was a back-up commander and the company did not call. They finally called a pilot who had the day off.
Takeoff happy? Not so: a last-minute failure of a valve of another engine to slow things down again. The jumbo jet took off yesterday, amid applause and ironies of passengers, close to 20.
Like all in Aerolíneas, the facts are confusing and allegations are several. "It was a technical fault," said Perez-Tamayo. "There is no covert action. Everything we do we do in the face." The company reaffirmed: "It was an engine failure. I had no power to boot. It was resolved".
But Ricardo Cirielli, from the Union of Aeronautical Technical Staff, hinted suspicions: "Mechanical problems may have meant, at most, half an hour. And the remaining 22 hours? Why the flight was rescheduled for 16:00 next day and not for the morning? To me so many things are suspicious."
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