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100% irrelevant. This was a "not critical" situation. Nobody was going to die. The kids got jet fuel dumped on them, because the pilot was too lazy to spend 30 minutes dumping the fuel over the ocean, as any "normal" pilot would have done, and as the ATC clearly expected they would do.
Wait --
You actually think that the dump occurred because a pilot who thought he was embarking on a 13-hour flight couldn't handle adding another 30 minutes to what ending up being a 56-minute flight?
100% irrelevant. This was a "not critical" situation. Nobody was going to die. The kids got jet fuel dumped on them, because the pilot was too lazy to spend 30 minutes dumping the fuel over the ocean.
You don't know that. You have no idea what was going on in the cockpit or what was happening with the engine. None of us (on this forum) do.
Do you think it's funny, having fuel dumped on school children? Would it be even more funny if they swallowed some of it, or got some of it in their eyes? Is it funny that about 60 people required medical attention? And if there had been open flame where the fuel came down, that would have just been hilarious, right?
Unless and until I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume that the captain had a compelling reason to release the fuel where he did, instead of over the ocean or at a higher altitude. But that does not negate the seriousness of having jet fuel come down in a school yard.
How do you know the overweight load wouldn't cause the plane to skid off the runway and burn?
The Captain dumped the fuel for a reason.
I'm glad you were in the cockpit with the Captain and First Officer so you could point out that my comment was completely irrelevant.
How do you know the overweight load wouldn't cause the plane to skid off the runway and burn?
Simple, because they can land overweight with a full load of fuel. It's a well known fact. Now answer my question. If landing overweight was really such a problem, why didn't the pilot take the ATC's advice and hold to dump the fuel over the ocean?
Quote:
“No one is going to dump fuel where these guys did it over populated areas and schools. It’s a pretty outrageous thing,” said Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts and a retired United Airlines pilot. “They should have gone over the ocean or landed heavyweight.”
Just curious, are you an airline pilot? Have you been fully briefed on the situation in the cockpit?
Would you have prefered I used the original headline of the story "Elementary school kids doused"? I think my title was a very accurate description. Maybe you would have preferred I titled it "Delta Boeing 777 flies over the rainbow to shower LA school children with butterflies, and unicorns". Would that have been good enough for you?
Ban traffic from populated areas?????? You realize where airports are located, right?
Dont want to live near an airport's flight path, dont buy or rent near one. Its not like they are building new airports every 20 years...
It might be kinda hard to find a place not in the flight path when the airport is right in the middle of the city, don't you think? Maybe the airports should be located away from where people live. Like Paris Vatry Airport - 131 miles from Paris. London Oxford Airport, 61 miles from London. Tokyo Narita Airport, 37 miles from Tokyo, or even Denver International Airport, 25 miles from Denver.
You actually think that the dump occurred because a pilot who thought he was embarking on a 13-hour flight couldn't handle adding another 30 minutes to what ending up being a 56-minute flight?
Banning air traffic from populated areas pretty much kills all air traffic, including passenger flights going to any destination at all. To propose this after one fuel dumping episode is a colossal overreaction.
It doesn't seem to have killed air traffic in Paris, Oslo, Munich, Frankfurt, London, Stockholm, Barcelona, Barcelona. Paris, Dusseldorf, Nottingham, London, Tokyo, Verona, Glasgow, Denver, Detroit, or Atlanta.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bus man
Do you think it's funny, having fuel dumped on school children? Would it be even more funny if they swallowed some of it, or got some of it in their eyes? Is it funny that about 60 people required medical attention? And if there had been open flame where the fuel came down, that would have just been hilarious, right?
Unless and until I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume that the captain had a compelling reason to release the fuel where he did, instead of over the ocean or at a higher altitude. But that does not negate the seriousness of having jet fuel come down in a school yard.
Flash point of Jet A is not a concern on the playground / city, and many of us (farm kids) got a daily dose of fuel oil, and 16 hrs sucking on the exhaust pipe in our face. (Which could possible discount the millions of NYC school kids dying from intermittent School bus exhaust) another subject.
I will suspect the cockpit crew failed to turn off the drop (other things on their mind)
That was quite a LONG flight path over land instead of sea (more fuel for next wildfire) ?
Likely pilot error (again), but much going on and probably anxious moments in the command seat. (Tho a simple single engine failure shouldn't have been a huge crisis). As mentioned we don't know all the details, and may not for months. There down safe. The kids are 'wash n wear', but you can bet some over anxious parents are gonna listen to the greedy attorneys who have not got enough 'Traffic / commercial vehicle Accident claims' from their LA billboards this month and they will drive up the lawsuits. That will drive up the cost for airline and the price of OUR tickets.
They should have just thrown the kids in the pool. (clothes and all). Fun and games at LA schools. Kids will get-over-it... Parents... likely not. I had a frantic CA parent call me at Master Gardeners crying because his DW (pregnant) found 1/2 a worm in her bite of apple. My response... "Never eat 1/2 a worm, might as well eat the whole thing". I trust her and the child survived. I got removed from phone duty.
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My response... "Never eat 1/2 a worm, might as well eat the whole thing". I trust her and the child survived. I got removed from phone duty.