Tagged With "aviation"
Comment
Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Very interesting!! Such a beautiful location too!
Comment
Re: Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Interesting story. A little known bit of Canadian history. Thanks. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
Comment
Re: Aviation Museums: Another good reason to fly
The Aviation Museum in Bourget, outside of Paris, can be very easily reached, by the way, on Bus No. 350 from Gare de l'Est. This same bus also goes to CDG at a cost of 3 metro/bus tickets. Norma
Blog Post
FAA: Now you can use electronics gate-to-gate
Government safety rules are changing to let airline passengers use most electronic devices from gate-to-gate.Government safety rules are changing to let airline passengers use most electronic devices from gate-to-gate. The change will let...
Blog Post
Selling Toronto Island terminal to fund more flights
Porter Aviation, which built and owns the Toronto Island Billy Bishop terminal featured in Gumbo's Where in the World Puzzle #71 , is selling the terminal to an investment group. But no fears for the convenient downtown airport—Porter is getting...
Blog Post
New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
In the wake of the Germanwings crash that killed 150 in an apparent suicide-by-pilot, Lufthansa and many others are quickly adopting rules requiring at least two crew members be present inside the cockpit at all times. Lufthansa's announcement covers...
Blog Post
Crowded planes a safety hazard? Witnesses say so...
Flight attendants, at a Federal hearing, pointed to "legroom wars" and increased air rage. A safety expert pointed out that the FAA's evacuation tests use planes with more legroom than you're likely to get, and Charlie Leocha of Consumer Traveler...
Blog Post
UK airlines push for more female pilots
In the 40-some years since Britain got its first female commercial airline captain, the numbers on the meter have hardly budged; only 3 percent of the world's pilots are women, and in Britain just under 6 percent. At a time of worldwide pilot...
Blog Post
Miscou Island Lighthouse, New Brunswick, Canada (Where Gumbo Was, #134)
Gumbo was at The Miscou Island Lighthouse, and believe it or not, no one solved the puzzle this week. The lighthouse was built in 1856 and is a designated a National Historic Site in Canada. They gives tours in the...
Blog Post
100th Birthday of Airlines...and CEOs predict the future
January 1, 2014 was the 100th anniversary of the first commercial passenger flight (St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line...pretty local!) and some airline CEOs took the occasion to predict the future for air transport. Hope it still includes ...
Blog Post
India: New policies may bring cheaper fares
India's government plans to use a mix of subsidies and relaxed airline regulations to encourage regional connections and economic growth
Blog Post
Farnborough show: air enthusiast's delight
Farnborough, Britain's big every-two-year aviation show and sales exhibition, opens next week with lots of displays and fly-overs.
Blog Post
FAA Says: A little less droid, a little more pilot
The Federal Aviation Administration is mandating a safety update already recommended by Boeing for 737s; it's designed to give pilots more warning when airspeed drops too low, especially in landings and approaches. Too much reliance on auto-throttle...
Blog Post
More flights allowed over Grand Canyon: FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration is allowing several thousand more small-plane and helicopter flights in and over the Grand Canyon, with planes that are supposed to be "quieter," although many have questioned the quietness formula. This has been a...
Blog Post
Aviation Museums: Another good reason to fly
CNN has compiled a list of 14 "best" aviation museums around the world, including in the U.S., China, Russia, France, Ukraine, Poland...You could almost build a round-the-world trip to explore them all. for the list and details, click HERE
Blog Post
JetBlue's new pilot training plan: no experience needed
With a worldwide pilot shortage expected over the next decades, JetBlue is taking an unusual step: it plans to train would-be airliner pilots who come to it without prior training as military or private pilots. In recent years, as flying has expanded and the supply of ex-military pilots has shrunk, airlines worldwide have begun to feel the effects of a shortage. Commercial pilot licenses require 1500 hours of flying experience. JetBlue's plan, new to the U.S., but similar to plans used by...
Blog Post
Take Flight at The Museum of Flight in Tukwila, WA
Samantha's husband shares pictures and a video from his wonderful visit to the Museum of Flight near Boeing in Seattle, Washington.
Topic
BRB aims to be the Netflix of travel
A British company whose initials signify 'Be Right Back' believes it will carve out a brand new travel segment—people willing to pay £50 a month for 3 vacations a year, while not knowing prior to wherever. BRB's subscription fee, which amounts to about €57 or $65, allows members to specify such parameters as beach/mountain/city, solo/couple and name places they don't want to go, and then sit back and wait. About a month before the trip the company tells them where they're going for a weekend...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I certainly can't see any harm in it. I've been told that airline staff have a "back" way into a locked cockpit to be used only in an emergency(a contingency). Not sure why that wasn't used this time -- perhaps it never dawned on the flight crew what was actually happening until it was too late.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
The back door is the second, emergency, code. It was used, but it can be overridden for 5 minutes from within.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
Originally Posted by PHeymont: The back door is the second, emergency, code. It was used, but it can be overridden for 5 minutes from within. Looks like that 5 minute policy will need to be revisited.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
It's very difficult to see exactly what to do, and I doubt that every contingency can be provided. The 5-minute lock is intended to deal with the situation of a crewmember, knife at throat, giving up the second code. If a second staff member were in the cockpit...that's about the only way to deal with a maniac like the Germanwings co-pilot. No guarantee...but a much better shot.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
There was mention in the news coverage that planes can be controlled from the ground. It seems to me that the 2 person rule, combined with planes equipped so that settings from the cockpit can be overridden from the ground, would go a long way in the right direction.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I do think the security doors have been good because its prevented hijackings. I just don't see any answer though to a pilot or copilot wanting to crash the plane . It's a horrible tragedy but flying on a commercial airplanes is so safe compared to other forms of transportation. For some reason ,we don't worry about taking buses or vans or driving our own cars even though the risk is far greater.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I actually thought a bit about this today, and I'm going to go at this from a different approach. While we seem to think that a locked cockpit door makes flying safer, we have no evidence of that. There have been no (published) attempts of terrorists wanting to hijack a cockpit since 9-11. A shoe and underwear bomber, yes, but that didn't directly involve taking control of the plane. I would agree that it SEEMS to be a deterrent, but so is all the rest of the TSA song and dance. We have now...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I think I have to differ sharply with you on aspects of this issue. When you say that "whoever established that 5 minute rule is somewhat complicit in this," I think you are pointing the finger in the wrong direction. That system was the product of careful thought and consensus. You are right: there are no published reports hijacking a cockpit (and yes, there ARE a number of reports of attempts). That is because the cockpit security rules have succeeded in their aim. Where the finger of...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I don't know if there were two people or not in the cockpit the time the Egypt Air Pilot allegedly crashed that plane ,but I can't imagine it would stop a pilot bent on doing that. And we don't require two bus drivers with controls when going on mountainous journeys. I looked at a list of hijackings and attempts and after 2001 the attempts haven't been successful I think in part because of the doors and the fact that crew and passengers don't remain passive anymore. ...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
Good points, Rob...although I think a second pilot, not a flight attendant, could have grabbed the controls and/or during those 8-10 minutes have opened the door and gotten help. Remember also that the original purpose of multiples in the cockpit was to deal with strokes, heart attacks, etc. Far more likely a passenger could stop the bus than fly the plane.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
You do raise some good points with medical conditions, but those occur while driving too .I do it think it would be almost impossible to get to the bus driver in time if he drove off a cliff or bridge and also some bus drivers are driving children. We seem to accept those small risks in other forms of transportation and life.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I think we can all accept accidents happening. We do not accept a murderer using public transportation to kill large numbers of people. Planes are high profile because of the tremendous data we can retrieve when it crashes, which usually allows us to understand what happened to make it crash. Also because of the large number of passengers involved and lastly the tremendous cost of the planes. And yes, flying is still the safest way to travel. Going through Rob's link, there are hijack...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
The reason the danger appears to be on the inside of the cockpit is that there are effective mechanisms for keeping intruders out. Remove those, and you remove that. Now, as I pointed out above, comes the need to reduce the risk from within by both requiring more than one person in the cockpit, and by more effective mental and physical screening of pilots. We have enough passenger screening...now we need the rest.
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I saw a good article that points out just how safe flying really is. He was talking about 2013 but 2014 was even safer. As far as murderous pilots ,I'm sure statistically that's extremely low too. It's a horrible tragedy and we openly see it on the news ,but safety is one thing we have to give the airline industry some credit. The outsourcing of maintenance is what would be my biggest concern on the industry A couple of quotes. "Around 3 billion people boarded some 35 million flights, each...
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
I saw a Delta ad for the first time this morning, not apparently a new slogan, but given new meaning by recent event..."Keep climbing".
Comment
Re: New safety rules after crash: No solo pilots
Lufthansa has been in dispute with its pilots for over a year. "Lufthansa’s industrial relations problems hit services for a tenth time in 2014 with pilots again taking action" Perhaps the last straw for the angry young man.
Comment
Re: India: New policies may bring cheaper fares
Given how slow road and train travel are in India, the population is ready for a more efficient way to get around. When I visited a few months ago, I observed new airports being built at a frantic pace. I think India will hit its air travel goals.
Blog Post
Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, Winnipeg
Gumbo was visiting this newly constructed museum, which highlights a collection ofmore than 90 aircraft important in Canadian aviation history.
Blog Post
China to host new International Airshow in 2017
China has announced a new bi-annual air show, with the first event to be held in Deyang, in Sichuan Province, in 2017. China is the fastest-growing market for airliners and is also an important manufacturing center for aviation equipment and parts.