Keep Seat Belts Tightened

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
I'm sure that most of the readers here have already heard of the Southwest flight that blew an engine just after takeoff yesterday. We (pilots) spend hundreds of hours in flight simulators experiencing how to control the plane if an engine blows. Even though many of the newscasters and passengers made a big deal out of this, it really isn't. There are two things that become an immediate priority. Get the plane below 12,000 ft., so that the oxygen masks are no longer necessary, which in turn will relieve the passengers of some of their fear and then as a precaution, get the plane on the ground at the nearest airport. Normally, planes have no problems flying with one engine.

Just a reminder though, other than when you are not seated, like using the lavatory, please keep those seat belts tight. Not to the point where they cut off circulation, but tight enough so that you cannot slip a finger between the belt and your lap. Just like in yesterday's mishap, you can be sucked out of your belt and even though you probably won't go through the window, it is possible and in either case, it will do enough damage to cause death.

There has not been a fatality from a passenger jet here in the U.S. since 2001 and we would like to keep it that way.

I am sorry for the young lady that lost her life. It was an unintended accident that caused her family much grief; I am sure. Please let this be a warning to us all, so that she did not lose her life in vain.
 

I also read that most of the passengers did not put their masks on correctly when they dropped.
 

I think it would be quite easy Sunny...after all on planes they're only Lap belts, so her head and torso could have been sucked out quite easily I think


I bet there's going to be a lot of window seat lovers changing their minds and booking aisle seats this year...
 
Her seat belt was on, but was not tightened. Like a poster already wrote, they are lap belts and not harnesses like the pilots wear, so it is imperative to tighten the belts to the point that the passenger cannot slip their finger between the belt and their waist while seated. Rapid decompression is very dangerous onboard the aircraft. Just think of taking a paper bag and blowing into it and then exploding the bag, which is basically the same, although a poor illustration. Masks will drop down if the plane is above flight level (FL) 12,500 ft., or in most cases, as soon as decompression is noted by the sensors onboard. Once the plane descends below the 12,500 FL, the masks could be removed from the passengers nose and mouth.

The engine that exploded is a very popular model and frequently used. I believe the engine on the SW airliner was built by GE. There are three (3) major jet engine manufacturers for engines that go on a passenger jet; Rolls Royce, GE and Pratt & Whitney. The way that I have them listed is my personal preference. There is nothing like a Rolls Royce engine. Any experienced jet pilot can tell when a RR engine is started. They make a very distinguishable sound, being very quiet, yet high pitched. RR is considered the most reliable in the business and when you or I board an aircraft and we look out at the engines and see that famous RR logo on the engine, we can relax and feel 100% safe. I also fully trust GE engines. With P&W, I always did a self inspection myself.

In this case, the fatigue or perhaps crack in the turbine blade (vane) could not be seen because it was not visible due to being behind the vane and inside the engine case. Even though the plane had just come out of being fully inspected as is required every so many takeoffs (expansions), the engine was found to be fully functional and safe. That particular engine had never reached its point to where it should have been x-ray'd.

Southwest is a very good airline and I "THINK" that with yesterday's event, the lady that was killed was only the second passenger that SW ever lost due to an accident. Even though that number is unacceptable, it is still quite a record and I would fly with them any time. Southwest's fleet is made up of all Boeing 737's, which is also the most popular airplane in the sky. My only complaint against SW is that they do not allow enough legroom between seats. I am 6'4" and I really do need an exit row seat for comfort.

Rolls_Royce_aircraft-750x500.jpg
 
This poor woman basically suffered a worst case scenario in which she was seated/exposed to a window & debris from an event that rarely happens. A confluence of events and physicality that one could not plan for or foresee with any accuracy.

The autopsy said head trauma was the passengers actual cause of death. Also noted was the plane immediately rolled to 41 degrees after the explosion. It's unclear if the pitch or roll helped pull her or exposed her and window to debris.

http://ktla.com/2018/04/18/southwest-passenger-died-after-broken-plane-window-nearly-sucked-her-out/
 
I would expect the plane to roll to one side after one of the engines were lost. All of the thrust was now on one side only. It probably took the pilot seconds to bring the plane back to normal. As long as the plane did not start yawing, the pilot should not have had any problem doing so. Keeping the nose up (pitch), would have helped to slow the plane and bring it back into normalcy. No pilot likes surprises, but when it happens, we are prepared for most anything.

BTW, this lady Captain did an incredible job to ease her passenger's minds by acting and speaking in a calm and controlled manner. I give all of the flight crew an A+ for their professional behavior. Something like this is very scary and if any one of the flight crew would have freaked out, the whole plane may have gone mad. So, hats off to all of them. Their behavior speaks volumes for their courage and professionalism.
 
Just the other day, there was a news blurb on about how they [airlines] are going to add an 'open' bar lounge on some flights & on others a playground for kids ?

I have never flown, but have for years heard stories about 'turbulence' / rough air, etc. How in the world is that going to work out ?
 
Thanks for the professional explanations, Oldman. By coincidence, there was an article on the radio here about people listening to / reading the safety instructions. I didn't hear the article myself, but having been a frequent flier during my working life, I've heard very many safety briefings - I knew them off by heart in several languages!

Some surprising ones came from major airlines, with comments like, "We would like you to listen , but if you've heard it all before, just go on reading your newspaper". One (airbus) pilot I regularly had a drink with had a very dark sense of humour. After a few beers he would say things like, " lf something goes badly wrong and we crash - don't worry about the safety briefing as we'll probably all be killed ".

Another 747 pilot grumbled a lot about how technology made him feel redundant in the cockpit and how his wife kept referring to him as a "glorified taxi driver". Maybe it's something to do with nationality, but several of the pilots I've met had a strange sense of humour.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Thanks for the professional explanations, Oldman. By coincidence, there was an article on the radio here about people listening to / reading the safety instructions. I didn't hear the article myself, but having been a frequent flier during my working life, I've heard very many safety briefings - I knew them off by heart in several languages!

Some surprising ones came from major airlines, with comments like, "We would like you to listen , but if you've heard it all before, just go on reading your newspaper". One (airbus) pilot I regularly had a drink with had a very dark sense of humour. After a few beers he would say things like, " lf something goes badly wrong and we crash - don't worry about the safety briefing as we'll probably all be killed ".

Another 747 pilot grumbled a lot about how technology made him feel redundant in the cockpit and how his wife kept referring to him as a "glorified taxi driver". Maybe it's something to do with nationality, but several of the pilots I've met had a strange sense of humour.
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It's sad, but you're correct. There are those type of people in any business that attempts to make light of a bad situation. Some will say that it helps them to relax by seeing the lighter side of things. That's OK, if one needs to do that, but it shouldn't be shared with passengers that are preparing to embark on a long journey in a jet plane at 37,000 ft. and are willing to trust their life on the pilot's experience and ability.

As for redundancy and being a glorified taxi driver, over the many years of aviation, there have been several crashes. Every time there was a crash, it was up to the NTSB to find the cause and then make its recommendations on how to correct the issue, so that it does not happen again. You notice that I wrote "recommendations." The NTSB has no governing powers. The FAA is in charge of that area. After a crash happened, the NTSB would investigate and find the cause. Once the cause was determined, they would make their recommendations to correct the issue. It was then up to the FAA to mandate any changes. This also included foreign airlines that flew into the U.S.

Many, many changes in avionics have come about over the past 50-60 years thanks mainly to our and the world's advancements in technology. I flew some of the most advanced aircraft available at the time. I never saw myself as a "glorified taxi driver." If the pilot acts appropriately, there are many things to do in the cockpit while the plane is in flight. True, the autopilot does most of the work, but not the preventative things that need done. After all, someone has to tell the computers what to do. Takeoffs and landings are the busiest time in the cockpit. Running checklists and preparing for a takeoff or landing are never to be neglected or steps missed. Accidents have occurred because pilots sometimes took short cuts because they were in a hurry to get the plane in the air.

I was the type of pilot that refused to take chances. I would never try to fly through a thunderstorm. I would rather divert around it and lose maybe 30-60 minutes to assure the safety of my passengers. When this happens, the autopilot needs to be disengaged and the pilot will hand fly the plane. This is the time we earn our money. When we divert for whatever reason, we are going against the filed flight plan, so we need to make the ATC (Air Traffic Controller) aware of this. We also alert the passengers, as well. If I had to divert to another airport, I know my passengers are going to be extremely unhappy and that's why I always tried to land at the expected destination. Over my 34 years of flying, I may have diverted to a different airport less than five times.

In the winter, there are snowstorms to deal with. I would fly in and out of such places as Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis. All three cities have had numerous blizzard conditions at times and have closed their airport, so NOT diverting was not an option. Taking off in a snowstorm after deicing is pretty cool. Once we are off the ground and get above the clouds, the sunshine greets us and it's like we entered the twilight zone. Then, we land in Miami where it's 75 degrees and people are cheering. It's great to hear passengers being happy.
 
To be fair, Oldman, the pilots (mainly Middle Eastern) in question told these tales in the hotel bar. There were plenty of amusing yarns from both the cockpit and cabin crew. The "taxi driver" described his job very much as you did - with the take off and landing procedures. It was when the plane was flying on autopilot that he felt a bit like a spare part. He said that sometimes he would turn off the autopilot and fly the plane to keep himself occupied. I think that he also used to mainly fly cargo rather than passenger flights.

I lost count of the flights that I've made as a passenger - probably 600-700 and never had any real frights - a few surprises though. Everything from the amusing announcements on a German flight when the pilot said "we apologise for the delay in take-off, but being German, naturally we will arrive on time. We will just fly a little faster", or the Scotair cabin crew who used to use cartoon names for the captain and co-pilot - to a very heavy landing one night that caused gasps and screams followed by a brief silence as the plane rolled down the runway. Then came the pilot's voice - "Well, we've landed".

I almost forgot a quite 'interesting' experience flying through a electric storm on a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. I've never seen so much lightning before.
 
Sometimes, it is possible to fly through the clouds and see lightning inside the clouds, or even cloud to cloud and of course, cloud to ground. This is a phenomenon that surprises many passengers. Normally, with today's radar capabilities in the cockpit, the pilots already have a handle on it. I would probably be correct in saying with the number of flights that Capt Lightning has taken, his plane has been struck by lightning on more than one occasion. No worries though. The aluminum hull will conduct lightning harmlessly.

The pilots that haul freight are referred to as long haulers. On average, they are paid more than passenger pilots, mostly because they fly for longer stretches at a time. I was offered a job by FedEx. I didn't go looking for it, but I was sitting at a table in the food court of the airport in San Diego when a gentleman from FedEx sat down with me. We got to talking and the next thing that I knew, he was offering me a job. I never even considered it because I enjoyed flying people. And besides, I would have been gone from home for longer stretches at a time, which would not have suited Mrs. Captain very well.
 

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