Virgins Sir Branson Endangers His And Staff Lives With Stupid Antics

[sys 4]

SIR RICHARD BRANSON ENDANGERS HIS AND THE 2 MODELS LIVES THAT WHERE THERE FOR HIS LONDON TO SYDNEY LUANCH IN SYDNEY.STANDING ON TOP OF THE AIRCRAFT WING THAT GOT HIM TO SYDNEY VERY CLOSE TO L/E HOLDING A SURF BOARD IN THONGS WITHOUT A HARNESS.WORK COVER NSW HAVE BEEN INFORMED AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO HIS HAIR BRAINED ANTICS

[Duff Man]

By the look of those models ... air-brained should be the operative word.

wind up alert.

[Unwell_Raptor]

Without Branson's flair for publicity there would be no airline and no jobs. Lighten up.

[sys 4]

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ANY OTHER PERSON STANDING ON A WING IN THE HANGERS ,LET ALONE OUTSIDE IN THE ELEMENTS WILL BE PULLED OVER THE COALS BY WORK COVER , BUT THIS NIT WIT THINKS HE HIS ABOVE WORK COVER LAWS, LET ALONE HOLDING A SURFBOARD THAT COULD TAKE HIM AND THOSE WOMEN OF THE WING IN ONE FOUL SWOOP WITH A GUST OF WIND

[ravan]

For crying out loud sys 4 ....Stop Shouting please!

[sys 4]

sorry i'm a screamer

[Manwell]

Oh my God, sys 4

And I thought you were serious,

Workcover been pretty hard to get on with have they?

I agree with you, their silly OH&S regulations are saving our lives by killing us slowly. Branson is a big boy who is not covered by workcover, so it's none of their business.

And unless the rest of us truly believe that we don't possess the intelligence to assess our own safety risks then most of us should not be flying aircraft or working on them either.

The worst part of this OH&S stuff is that the people who make it up have not the faintest idea about what is an acceptable work practice and what is not, so they err on the side of academia. If it sounds very safe when spoken in an office, then it must be good.

Like anything, best taken in moderation.

[scramjet77]

Good on im. I for one am sick to death of political corectness and the whole bloody industry that goes with it. If I was RB I would have done it too. The whole world has gone mad with the "nanny state" mentality.

Thank god for few free spirits still left on this world.

Heres to you Dick and Sys 4, get a life for god's sake.

[Soulman]

With a set of knockers like these (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/727883/M/), I reckon the bird on the left would have bounced back onto the wing had she fallen... ;)

Soulman.

[robroy]

A screamer eh.

You certainly are, a screaming bloody IDIOT, get a life you richard cranium, it seems we now have 2 of them in Oz, but at least one has been fired and shut up.

One down, one to go

robroy

[Duff Man]

sys4 is a screamer? like this?
http://www.lafreak.freeserve.co.uk/gallery/millen/WynSQ2000.jpg

[Wizofoz]

Manwell and Scram,

It's not that I disagree with your sentiments, but just realise that in todays world, your attitudes make lawers rub their hairy little hands together with glee.

Suppose there HAD been a gust of wind and Sir Dick Had knocked off one of the little lovelies (I'm sure that was his intention, just not in that context!!). Just whos' deep pockets would Shyster, Grab and Plunnder have gone after on a "No win, no pay" basis?

Sick of political correctness? Great! Get yourself sued and fund a test case to improve things for the rest of us.

I'll watch...

[scramjet77]

Wiz

Unfortunately it is true that there are hoares masquerading as lawyers who would have a go. It is this very system of the "Nanny state" that allows these shysters to thrive and prosper. However it should be about responsibility for your own actions. I am sure that if the fanciful event took place, RB would be more than covered to defend himself. The girls I am sure would have leapt at the chance for the photo opportunity, it would have done their careers no end of good.

Sys 4 et al are the type who think that it is fine to sue the bartender because you drink too much during a night out, thus nurturing the blood suckers who thrive on modern day correctness.

I wear critisism from the likes of sys 4 as a badge of honour!

[Evanelpus]

You've gotta love Branson. Every opportunity to get the beard in the paper, he's there faster than Michael Jackson offering to babysit.

Good luck to the guy, love him or loathe him, he'll do what it takes to get the right picture.

I for one think he's great for Britain (my own personal opinion).

[Chimbu chuckles]

From little I've heard about the guy if he'd accidently bumped one of the girls off...so to speak...they'd have wanted for nought in the area of medical care.

Leave the guy alone..he is a breath of fresh air...and a moderately successfull one at that.

[Soho_Sophie]

Lads,

Fear not from the Knight... One of my close friends had one of those "special" invitations and reported back that it was very 'one-sided' so to speak.

Perhaps a legend-in-his-own-lunch-box? Not a Knight to remember:) :p

[Buster Hyman]

Have another look at the picture sys4. I counted at least 4 airbags near his vicinity!

[TheNightOwl]

sys4 - your thinking is like that of the ******** I asked to quote to replace the condenser unit of my domestic aircon on my roof. Because the roof is sloping, his quote contained a cost for "...manufacture of a platform surrounding the unit and a handrail to which workmen will attach their safety harness"!! Just how much of a nanny state are you people trying to create?

Waken up and smell the coffee, sunshine!

TheNightOwl.:yuk:

[Gnadenburg]

Soho_Soph'

Should have sent your friend my way.

It may still have been one sided, but I would have bragged about it!:O

[gaunty]

Onya Buster it looks like they had a safety thingy rigged up behind them as well. Still you wouldn't want to spoil a good story.

Good upon him, so c'mon Geoff lets see ya in ya thong mate, pink zinc and Greg Chappell hat with a cuplla yer sheilas, some VB (eeerm maybe XXXXXX :yuk: :) )and a Four and Twenty pie in yer mit.

[Chimbu chuckles]

Now that would be funny...and send a somewhat confusing message...Dixon on the wing of a 744 with a couple of granmas and a VB in his hand.:}

[nzmarty]

maybe they had velcroe on their shoes. maybe they had mattresses on the ground (probably had them somewhere. maybe they are REALLY brave. maybe it should be seen for the advertising stunt is was, and wowsers who get all nervous at the mere sight of someone enjoying themselves should get over it and move on....

[grrowler]

maybe we shouldn't wear seatbelts, cos they're for wooses, maybe we can have a few drinks n then drive, cos we've done it before n been ok, maybe we should speed, cos it won't happen to us.

Or maybe Branson is a cheap publicity tart who doesn't think about the consequences as long as his ugly mug is in the media:rolleyes:

[Islander Jock]

Seatbelts and drink driving and speeding do not even rate a mention in the context of any risk analysis associated with this.

Perhaps all those kicking and scratching to climb to the top of the high ground and shout "I'm holier than though" should take Buster's advice and have a closer look at the photo. Clearly, some type of tethered device rigged behind or over the wing. Look at the angle of the photo, for all we can tell, there could be layers and layers of padding taped all over the upper surface with a further fall barrier erected at the trailing edge.

Sir Richard might appear to the ill informed masses (including some here) as somewhat of a daredevil but for my money I'll bet their safety department was well and truly involved in all aspects of the planning and execution of the photo shoot. If some people are really concerned about any breaches of industrial safety legislation here, they might achieve a better result writing to the HSSE manager of Virgin rather than speculating and sledging on PPRUNE.

No I don't work for Virgin, don't even fly with them but as a professional in the safety industy I find some of the comments and analogies above to be hilarious.

[Apophis]

at qantas around the bases everyday they dont care

[Sheepdog]

I cant believe that any one would come up with such small minded cxxp . These type of people , do gooders , social engineers, etc etc have made life impossible in Australia. We are over regulated and Policed . They will have us soon in Michellin man type suits when we step outside so we dont hurt each other.

[SkySista]

oh I can clearly see the guys with guns forcing the models to stand on that wing. :rolleyes:

Honestly, if anyone would be hurt, it'd be themselves, and I'm sure they're big girls (no sniggering please, get yer minds outta the gutter :E ) and are old enough to decide if they want to risk falling off (onto the mats i am sure were there or other safety equip)

Must say I think the "now boarding' slogan quite clever actually.

yeah I mightn't agree with all Virgin's policies or style of marketing, but hey, looks like it's working if you lot are willing to get on here and start whingeing about it...... ;)

Sky

[cunninglinguist]

With you 100% sheepdog, but as far as Sir Dick is concerned and wether he deserves being called an idiot, how 'bout:

The time he walked across the tarmac ( no ID of course ) from one of "his" aeroplanes to another because the Captain had elected to have a drunk idiot thrown off, and Dick decided that he would let him back on.........idiot ??

Or the numerous times he is still walking around the cabin, around the time the gear is going down for landing, putting the FAs in an extremely difficult position by ignoring the belt sign and the requests from FAs to sit down....idiot??

Just a couple of examples, and don't bother trying to defend him, these stories are 1st hand.

[sys 4]

perhaps you guys would feel just as comfortable with this HAPPY GO LUCKY attidude when me and my uptight work mates are maintaining these aircraft you are about to endear your life too,these rules are set in place for the safety of me,my work mates and the flying public and idiots like sir Branson.

[NAMD]

Nope. That did it. Bucket please. :yuk:

There are more important things in life. Build a bridge. Life is FAR to short to go off about crap like that. Knock it off with the self-important-I-fix-jet-planes crap while you're at it.

If you don't want to be hit by the Branson falling off a wing, don't stand underneath it. Life is full of choices, isn't it?

If I had waited for gantries everytime I went for a wing walk, I'd still be waiting.

[Islander Jock]

Sys 4,

If you are so genuinely concerned about this, why not talk to someone who was on the ground at the shoot and ask them what safety measures were put in place. Read the post above from Buster. Clearly there is something which was put in place to mitigate the risks of Richard and the lovelies on the wing. The camera angle obviously chosen to capture th subject without the superflous stuff in the background.

Jeez mate, I hope you don't believe everything you see on television also.

[Buster Hyman]

The VS safety department. Now, why did that make me think of that guy from the Nissan pricing department?:p

[Taildragger67]

On the topic of nanny state...


Can anyone tell me if there's a website for the Save Bob the Dog campaign yet?

[pullock]

Next time Im standing in the middle of a wing I wont be wearing a harness either.

What a load of crapola.

Perhaps now its time to ban cars roads and aeroplanes all together so nobody gets hurt.

[Islander Jock]

Branson 'in hot water' for air antics
By Jordan Baker
December 14, 2004

BRITISH billionaire Sir Richard Branson's antics at celebrations to mark Virgin Atlantic's first London-Sydney flight have landed the company in hot water with Sydney Airport.

When a Virgin aircraft arrived from the United Kingdom last week, Sir Richard – wearing board shorts and carrying a surfboard – stepped straight on to the wing and posed with two bikini-clad models.

London newspaper The Guardian today reported the companies were embroiled in a "furious row" because aviation officials were concerned about the number of people on the potentially slippery wing.

They tried to order Sir Richard, the company's chairman, back on to the plane and later "carpeted" Virgin for ignoring safety protocols, the newspaper said.

But officials from Sydney Airports Corp Ltd and Virgin Atlantic played down the incident.

Sydney Airport spokeswoman Shannon Kliendienst said Virgin Atlantic was asked about its deviation from its pre-arranged plans but said the incident was not significant and did not prompt safety concerns.

"There was a deviation from the running sheet. They were meant to come out on the tarmac and came out on the wing of the plane instead," she said.

"We have certain expectations of what happens out there. When there's a slight change to that we make inquiries as to why.

"If we were concerned about (safety), we would have stopped the activity."

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said the company took its responsibilities seriously and safety and security were always of paramount importance.

"We look forward to having a long and productive relationship with Sydney Airport," she said.

Sir Richard predicted the price of flights to London would fall by up to 30 per cent now that Virgin Atlantic was challenging the "cosy duopoly" of Kangaroo route leaders Qantas and British Airways.

AAP

[tornspar]

SYS4 Get a life ...your just jealous.You probably cant stand on your feet let alone a wing,except on your TOMOHAWK

[frangatang]

If it makes you feel better pc world is worse in pommieland.
If l dare to do sa walkround without a yellow tabard its a$130 fine. Still , l would have walked the wing to be with those tarts.
Plenty of his cabin crew are like that as well

[Cactus Jack]

I dont really care what airline you work for, this isn't necessarily about that.

The point of this is that there are two levels of rules. One for staff, who would likely have been in a world of poo had they done what SRB did, and one for management, who do what suit them whenever it suits them.

If he had any balls SRB would cop the fine and set an example for his troops, whom he expects to do the correct thing.:yuk: :yuk: :yuk:

[HotDog]

sys4, do you know why a kilo of Oz brains are the most expensive on the cannibal market? Because it takes so many of them to produce a kilo.:E

[druglord]

WOW HE WAS ON TOP OF THE WING! That's CRAZY! This guy should be a stunt man. Maybe it'll be on the next fear factor. Maybe on his next crappy TV show. I hope he has good life insurance standing on wings and all.

[HotDog]

Druglord, I'm not sure wether you are tounge in cheek or genuine, but for the sake of some that may think you are genuine; have you ever been on the top of the wing of an A340, or any other airplane? It's bigger than your living room. This is just another instance of the Australian habit of cutting tall poppies. Virgin Blue was given six months by the Aussie sooth sayers when they started flying in Oz, look at them now. Whether you like Richard Branson or not, he is a great business man and I wish I was as crazy as him and deep down you probably feel the same way.

[Buster Hyman]

I give them another six months...AND THAT'S ALL!!!:8

[druglord]

hot dog
yes i was tongue in cheek, I think australia suffers from an oligopoly, and JB is the best thing that happened. Put a highly inefficient ANsett out of business, and while this is unfortunate for all those affected it's nice to see aussies are finally getting a taste of some competition. Yes I admire branson not just because of his business savy, but also because like Herb Keller, David Neelman, and others he actually likes his employees. I'm sure geoff dixon isn't getting invited to too many employee christmas parties this year.

that doesn\'t negate the fact that his tv show was crap

i found it amusing how "dangerous" some people think this is. Ughh...hello... ballooning around the world isn\'t??

[Ultralights]

does that mean we will need to wear a harness when climbing on the wing of a Bonanza? or Cherokee?

[Bob Upndown]

I was there for the inaugural arrival into SYD. The wing stunt was put together beacause SACL refused to allow any stunts or photo opportunity involving the beach babes or anyone else on the ramp. There was also to be a 'guard of honour' along the red carpet at the bottom of the steps with surf-rescue teams, boards, flags etc. which was also turned down.

Having been involved with a number of route launches, no way was Richard ever going to simply 'arrive'!

So, to get around the whole SACL issue, the babes and the surf-rescue people were flown to HKG so that they were on the a/c when it landed, rather than them being on the ramp, tipping off SACL.

The over-wing exit was popped just after engine shutdown. Whilst an appropriately trained person on board disarmed and opened the door, there was no interface with staff on the ground. As such, there was no time to put in place any safety devices. I've seen the photo with the 'thingy' in the background and have no idea what it is. The whole stunt was kept secret from all in SYD so there was simply no chance to setup any gantries etc. Seems to me it's a bloody big wing, and all people out there stayed way back from the edge. As another poster has alluded to, in terms of danger and Richard, this doesn't even figure on his adrenaline-meter (though his babe-ometer was bouncing off the stop!)

This is simply the way it is - there was no malicious intent, the publicity as a result was priceless, and at the end-of-the-day, it's his plane and he can do what he bloomin' well likes with it (OK, within reason :) )

SACL responded by pulling some ramp passes and generally making life difficult. SACL ramp safety cars were seen shadowing the arriving and departing taxiing a/c for a few days, presumably to make sure the 'nutters at Virgin' didn't take a short-cut across the grass or something :p

Cheers
Bob

[TIMMEEEE]

Sir Richard predicted the price of flights to London would fall by up to 30 per cent now that Virgin Atlantic was challenging the "cosy duopoly" of Kangaroo route leaders Qantas and British Airways.

What a crock!
Here they go again insulting the intelligence of Australians by intimating that QF/BA hold a monopoly.

I wonder what Singapore/Thai/Cathay Pacific think of this?

Hell! I can even fly to London with Garuda/ Japan Airlines / Emirates or a handful of others!!!

Hopefully the average Australian can see through this rouse.

[Icarus2001]

Tim e e e e, yes I would hope so too but talking with friends and acquaintances outside of aviation it would appear that they believe what they are fed. Most of us outside our own field of expertise have very low levels of understanding about other industries etc That is how marketing and PR can operate so effectively and why politicians behave the way they do. (non core promise).

It seems to be quite simple to convince most of the population about something being a fact when in fact it is untrue. Urban myths are a good example. No one ever really thought that the earth was flat but we still talk about those unenlightened people who believed that before the age of reason, they did not exist. Ask most people who made the first powered flight and they would say the Wright brothers, despite evidence to the contrary. The media would have us believe that crime is on the rise but it is simply not true but advertisers for security screens, insurance, etc want the media to perpetuate that myth and the media want to sell them air time or column inches to provide a solution!
Anyway I think I am wandering. My point is that people believe what they see or hear on TV.

CNNNN - We report, you believe.

[sys 4]

pullock you and many of your knuckle head mates would be silly enough to climb onto a wing 2 stories up, and then if you where to fall of you would be taking your employer to court seeking damages due to your employer not providing a DUTY OF CARE for your simple mind taking you on to the wing, these rules are in place to to protect you from yourselves,and besides i would doubt you would have ever worked on top a wing