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Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

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Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you imagine leaving your laptop on a plane? In a situation like this I'd almost certainly grab that and try to take it with me. Airlines are already woefully incompetent in the best of times with your luggage, what's even the timeline for getting this stuff back? I don't buy the whole "we need it for the investigation", buddy if something in my carry-on stopped the front landing gear from opening you've got bigge…

Agreed, now that I know you can't readily get your stuff back I'd definitely think more about what I'd grab to take off in an emergency. That said, my laptop, being sufficiently valuable, is also automatically and constantly backed up, so I'm not too worried about losing it in an emergency, just like I'm not worried about someone stealing it from me on the subway which I suspect is a more likely occurrence.

If you don't want to risk losing it in an emergency, keep it on your person during the flight. If it doesn't fit in your pockets, leave it: You might need your hands and want them empty.

The last thing everybody on the plane needs is you fetching that one important small thing from the overhead bin/under your seat/the aisle after you dropped it/...

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The investigation is not the primary reason your told the leave your stuff its to avoid delays in an evacuation. Imagine that the plane was less lucky I fire had started in the front nose cone section. Then people trying to get there bags could jeopardize the safety of the passengers in the front of the plane.

You have completely miss understood the complaint. The complaint is about the FAA hold passenger items after the emergnecy is over while they "investigate" The process should be Evac -> Fire Dept clears the plane > Airline gets passengers there stuff it should not be Evac > Fire Dept > NTSB Looks at things > FAA Looks at things > Someone 3 years later Passengers get their things because the FAA as the latter policy,…

> Someone 3 years later Passengers get their things

It's been a couple of hours since the incident. I think calling three years is premature.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been through a rough emergency landing where there was a serious concern for potential fire, and I wasn't even thinking of my government-issued laptop and phone (to use the phrasing in another comment).

>>government-issued laptop and phone (to use the phrasing in another comment). yes if you did not pay for the items, it will not cost you anything to replace the items then doubt you would think about them... it will be shocking for you to learn that some times people travel with possessions that are not paid for by other people.

And I'd be shocked if the airline wouldn't have to compensate you for your lost property anyway (plus a little bit extra for your inconvenience).

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#264

>>He said they were told the Federal Aviation Administration has a hold on the plane so nothing can move on it or from it. And then they wonder why people try to take their bags during an emergency off boarding.... Because they know they will not see it for a long time if ever again. Stupid policy

I wonder how that's supposed to work with things like government issued devices or even just corporate ones which aren't supposed to leave the possession of the person they've been issued to.

I'm pretty sure "I was on a plane crash and the cabin crew yelled at me to leave my luggage behind, per safety regulations" works as an excuse in most contexts.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a general heuristic, I’ve found that people who create policies in a specialized field of expertise tend to think through those policies a whole lot more than internet commentators like myself do. Especially when those policies will obviously piss off a bunch of people, I can either assume those people who spend decades thinking about X don’t know what they’re doing, or I can say “hey, I probably know way less tha…

> I’ve found that people who create policies in a specialized field of expertise tend to think through those policies a whole lot more than internet commentators like myself do. I've found the opposite, actually. Specialized fields of expertise are the less able to make policy because, in general, they fail to consider the big picture. It's all tradeoffs for everything and more than just one "expert" should have a sa…

I'm confused where the concept of a single expert making policy entered the discussion.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#266
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Planes have to be sturdy and flexible to handle the environment they spend most of their time cruising in. This is probably nothing next to the turbulence planes are expected to shrug off while maintaining a ground level environment eight miles up for decades of service life.

I was somewhat thinking of the mechanical stress of the passengers.

Passengers happen to be surprisingly fragile.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#267
post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's one thing to do the math to estimate how many idiots there are. It's another thing to claim that the idiots are doing the math. To describe throwing a ball, you may use calculus. But if you then reason that people who throw things must know calculus, that's going to lead to incorrect inferences and decisions. (as you may know it's not allowed to say "correlation != causation" on HN so I'm not saying that)

> It's another thing to claim that the idiots are doing the math. Did someone say that? If someone keeps a bag because they don't trust the airline, that's an emotional decision, not a math one.

Ok. I'm maybe not following your point.

Do you think the FAA's policy is a problem?

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#268

>>He said they were told the Federal Aviation Administration has a hold on the plane so nothing can move on it or from it. And then they wonder why people try to take their bags during an emergency off boarding.... Because they know they will not see it for a long time if ever again. Stupid policy

Why do you assume a low-margin high-risk industry implements “stupid policies” just to bother you and steal your laptop? The goal during an evacuation is to get every one off in 90seconds or less, since it’s possible there’s a fire, which has the potential to become extremely dangerous very quickly. Consider how long it takes to board a plane with luggage. We’re all really quick to assume this is simply bureaucrats i…

I remember a fire at a hotel I was staying at in the 80s. The stairwell was completely packed with people who had every single piece of luggage with them.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#269

That landing was so smooth it makes you wonder if front landing gear is even necessary at all!

So is this plane totalled? Or can it be repaired and returned to service?

It was already due for the knacker's yard as it is so old, so it definitely a write-off now.

Re: Delta flight lands in Charlotte without front landing gear

#270

What's with them putting "a hold" on all of the passengers possessions? Like, that's leaving people without their wallets (aka id, money) and so on. Sounds like they may not get it back for an unknown period of time (weeks, months?) either.

Untold best practice: Keep your phone, passport, wallet etc on your body always while on a flight. Imagine being stuck in this situation in a foreign country where they'll keep you at the airport for days waiting to figure out how to get you back home without a passport. Your renters/homeowners insurance may cover anything left on the plane that is lost and not covered by the airline.

I lost my passport while in the United Kingdom and had no other identifying documentation with me. The US embassy had me fill out a ~10 question sheet of paper and then "checked me out". 30 minutes later they said I was "good" and would have a new passport delivered to me in 48 hours.

UK/US relations are pretty good. I'm sure this situation could have been a lot worse in more unfriendly countries but I'm still shocked this solution was even possible.

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