Originally Posted by
747boy
Just wondering if anyone has thought about the possibility that there may have been one or more frequent flyers on the flight who used the airport on a regular basis and would have known the layout of the airport and may have realised that the wrong runway was being used. What would be the protocol in this case for a passenger to alert the crew.
I know it was early morning but I also wondered if the position of the Terminal Building (which I presume was illuminted to some degress) relative to the aircraft's position as it started it's take off roll provided any visual indication that they were on the wrong runway.
Just how would this transpire ? The passenger would either...
a. assume the pilots were correctly using an active runway, even if it were different than what they were used to
b. ring the flight attendant call button; but, during taxi, the flight attendant is to be seated unless on a safety related duty, so it would be ignored unless the aircraft was stopped and in a hold position on the taxiway. I doubt any flight attendant would be jumping out of their safety harness to answer a call button on a take-off roll (!)
c. jump out of their seat and go pound on the cockpit door, at which time everyone in the cabin would assume the passenger was a terrorist, and the flight attendant would be commanding the passenger to return to his seat during a takeoff....
This question is just not realistic.