Usual sensationalism - Jet2 TLV - MAN today

[Capetonian]

Yes it's the Daily Mail .... usual garbage


Holidaymakers' emergency landing terror after plane plummets thousands of feet.

Families have spoken of their terror as a passenger jet dropped thousands of feet before making an emergency landing.

The Jet2 flight was heading to Manchester at 35,000 feet when cabin pressure was lost and passengers said they could smell burning.

Gary Hymanson, from Manchester, said: "I woke up to hear screaming and the captain saying they were making an emergency descent. The oxygen masks dropped down."

Passengers reported smoke and a burning but airline officials said the problem was a 'cabin pressure issue'.

[Cacophonix]

Holidaymakers' emergency landing terror after plane plummets thousands of feet.

Families have spoken of their terror as a passenger jet dropped thousands of feet before making an emergency landing.

The Jet2 flight was heading to Manchester at 35,000 feet when cabin pressure was lost and passengers said they could smell burning.

Gary Hymanson, from Manchester, said: "I woke up to hear screaming and the captain saying they were making an emergency descent. The oxygen masks dropped down."

Passengers reported smoke and a burning but airline officials said the problem was a 'cabin pressure issue'.


Yes it is a classic of the genre.

I suspect that there is a journalistic template for the holiday horror piece.

The highlight of the article of course is the complete misunderstanding of how oxygen is produced. A true classic.

[A4]

To all those not familiar with modern aircraft operations... the burning smell is from the oxygen generators for the drop down masks. It's simply a chemical reaction to generate O2, a by product of which is heat.

The crew will have been trained for this. Yes it probably is very alarming for all concerned.... but evidently the outcome was successful, so well done to the crew concerned.

When will the media ever stop trying to sensationalise every single thing to do with aircraft as terror/death/oblivion etc etc........ answer - never.

Hope that goes a little way to help.

A4

[cessnapuppy]

'misunderstanding' would imply that there were some 'understanding' initially, now gone awry . Sensationalism is A LOT CHEAPER than investigative journalism, and Bold and UPPERCASE superior to good writing. Welcome to the world of New Media!

[mickchick]

Aren't the previous posters somewhat guilty of shooting the messenger? The Daily Mail has reported what happened (as supplied by several passenger accounts). It hardly matters to the stricken passengers that the smell of burning, as reported, is a chemical reaction - the fact there is a smell of burning however caused is terrifying enough to passengers.
As for it all being nothing to worry about because there's a set procedure, the crew properly trained, etc - get a grip on the reality of fear, chaps. As far as the passengers are concerned its a crisis. Planes do occasionally fall out of the sky, you know, no matter how well trained the crew.
And you might want to apologise to the Daily Mail for simply reporting what happened. Unless of course any of you posters know different because you were actually on the flight....

[Capetonian]

Fair comment, Mickchick, and as I posted it I have to put my hand up to this one.

I would question though why it is only newspapers of the genre of the Mail which resort to such hackneyed, overworked, and exaggerated reporting even if, as you say, they report from eyewitness accounts. I didn't see anything approaching this level of hysteria in the broadsheets.

It was also the Mail that blew up the story of the recent Ryanair depressurisation over France with the Arctic explorer (Pen somebody or other?) and all the same templated expressions came up :

Plunging, out of control, panic, screaming, praying, plummeting, thousands of feet ....

As SLF I've been in three depressurisations and in none of them was there anything approaching panic. A little nervousness amongst some passengers would describe it. A non-event.

[mickchick]

I think it's fair to say that when anything out of the ordinary happens on an aircraft, many passengers not unreasonably think that this is the end. Take a bit of wobble on the wings when flying through a storm - the fear is palpable. So it is highly likely that when masks drop down, there's a smell of burning, lost height, etc, we are all going to be scared. It happens to the cc too - I was on a Virgin flight over the Atlantic earlier this year when the plane suddenly dropped. One lady serving our cabin had to have a complete change of clothes, and not from spilled food, if you get my drift.
As for the difference between broadsheet and mid-market reportage: I know from my own experience that many newspapers at the loftier end go to the airline's spokesmen for their account whenever anything like this happens. Of course they play it down to the papers - that's their job. And that's why papers like the Mail prefer the passengers' and eye witness accounts for the story of what actually happened - it's much more likely to be the truth.
Some, like your goodself, call it sensationalising. But hey, very often the truth is sensational!

[Ringwayman]

Eye witness accounts such as one in the Daily Mirror in the 1980s by a lady with apparently the most fantastic eyesight in the world who witnessed a near miss at 35000 feet whilst hanging out her washing with the front page headline "I saw the miracle of the near miss jets"? (see the book UK Airspace - Is it sage?" by David Ogilvie {I believe}. Sorry, eye witnesses, particularly in relation to aviaton matters are often people the media should last report unless these witnesses are on a day off from their aviation related job relevant to what occurred.

[Trash_Hauler]

mickchick...

Been working for the Daily Mail long?

[Flying_Frisbee]

8th August 2009 20:20 A4
To all those not familiar with modern aircraft operations... the burning smell is from the oxygen generators for the drop down masks. It's simply a chemical reaction to generate O2, a by product of which is heat.

I didn't know this.
Why isn't it mentioned by "those familiar with modern aircraft operations" in the safety demos when they're explaining the operation of the masks? It would seem to be an obvious thing to mention to avoid any justifiable concern from the passengers if the masks are deployed.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<And you might want to apologise to the Daily Mail for simply reporting what happened.>>

I thought seriously about this.... After a lifetime in aviation and considerable dealings with the "media" that ranks as the funniest thing I've heard!

Rubbish usually emanates from the pens of journalists when they deal with aviation matters... and if they take "eye witness" reports it ends up much worse. Did anyone read the "eye witness" report of the recent accident over the Hudson River? Apparently the fixed-wing aeroplane was a biplane......

[Malone]

Just imagine how it would have been reported if it had been a BA aircraft!! They would have devoted 6 pages to it, if not a special supplement!!!!!
:)

[OFSO]

Holidaymakers' unscheduled landing suprised passengers after plane descended unexpectedly.

Families have spoken of their surprise as a passenger jet descended before making an unscheduled landing.

The Jet2 flight was heading to Manchester at 35,000 feet when cabin pressure was lost and passengers said they could smell heated air.

Gary Hymanson, from Manchester, said: "I woke up to hear talking and the captain saying they were making an emergency descent. The oxygen masks dropped down as we had been told they would."

Passengers reported smoke and a heated smell but airline officials told them there was nothing wrong and said the problem was a 'cabin pressure issue'.


Now that's more like it, but it won't sell the Mirror/Express/Sun/NotW etc.

[Final 3 Greens]

Heated air?

What PC B******S

It smells of burning. I have never heard the safety brief mention this and it must be pretty scary for people to encounter this unexpectedly, when they probably expect to breath nice cool oxygen.

[Fly-by-Wife]

Heated air?

What PC B******S

Looks like F3G has grasped the wrong end of the stick and is waving it furiously!

FBW

[Rob1975]

LiveLeak.com - Holidaymakers' Emergency Landing Terror After Plane Plummets Thousands Of Feet (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=831_1249808479)

The usual TERROR headline, etc; Cpt. sounds fully in CONTROL - good comms I would say.

[Final 3 Greens]

So kindly demonstrate the right end, fly by wife.

[Fly-by-Wife]

F3G,

If you don't understand OFSO's post it would be futile to try to explain it to you.

There's little point in debating or discussing further with you as you simply put people who articulate points of view opposed to yours in your ignore list.

FBW

[Final 3 Greens]

Fly-by-wife

So you can't explain your comment and prefer to hide behind an insult.

Have you ever tried breathing O2 from a generator?

Heated air it doesn't smell of, burning, it does.

Its one thing to tone down the language in an article, quite another to grossly misdescribe a sensation.

BTW, in 9 years of being on the forum, I have put 2 people onto ignore.

That hardly justifies your last sentence.

[PAXboy]

Here's another and it's the dear old BBC who usually manage to be both high and low brow at the same time. I have highlighted their contradictions but not edited at all.
------------------------------------
Aircraft makes emergency landing
A Flybe plane, with 82 passengers on board, has made an emergency landing at Exeter Airport.The twin-engine Embraer 195 was en route from London Gatwick to Jersey when a computer warning indicated a minor technical fault.

An airport spokesman said the aircraft's pilot took the decision to land at Exeter "as a precaution". No-one was injured and all the passengers have been transferred to another aircraft.

Mike Rutter from Flybe said the technical fault meant the plane needed a longer runway than Jersey's to land. The onward flight has been delayed by poor visibility in Jersey, Mr Rutter added.
------------------------------------
So, it was an emergency, or it was a precaution. They flew to their home base for full support and a good length of runway. Yes, it sure sounds like an emergency to me. :hmm:

[Final 3 Greens]

Paxboy

It can be both.

The PIC may choose to divert without making a MAYDAY call, but the ATCO may decide to invoke one of several different categories, in line with their procedures.

Not saying that this is what happened, but I have seen/heard it happen whilst holding for departure in a light aircraft.