Mytravel practices when an aircraft goes tech.

[dbromle]

The questions arise out of a neighbour's description of Friday evening's flight from Menorca to Leeds.
"We were all strapped in but nothing happened. Eventually the captain came on board covered in oil and announced that there was a problem with the baggage doors and as a result the aircraft computer thought we were in the air. He had to redistribute the load so as to make the aircraft level. Eventually he announced they were to make of runs on the runway to gain speed then brake to attempt to reset matters. After two attempts they returned to the lounge. After a couple more hours he got them all together and announced that he had discussed with head office, and although the computer wasn't fixed, it should be ok to depart. And by the way if you dont want to get on board Mytravel wont be able to find you any accomodation or find you another flight back, you will have to arrange all this yourself at your own expense.
By this time, several hours after scheduled departure, the lounge was full of crying children, husbands and wives quareling with each other whether to go as many were clearly terrified."
So
Should the passengers really have been given such detailed information to give them the impression that the aircraft computer was defective, but were still expected to fly ?
Given that many of them were in a state of terror (and decided not to fly) should Mytravel have at least made the effort to offer to try to get them back by another flight?
What action anyone let behind but who has incurred spend to get home now take?

[M.Mouse]

IF, and that is a big IF, what you have been told is true several points spring to mind.

The baggage doors and aircraft thinking it is in the air does not quite tie up.

Aircraft do have switches which sense when an aircraft is airborne and perhaps that was what he was trying to rectify by running up and down the runway.

That in itself sounds like a poor decision. I seem to recall an aircraft being lost some years ago doing runs to clear fog if I remember correctly. The brakes caught fire and the aircraft was destroyed. It also alarms the majority of passengers most of whom do not fly regularly and are apprehensive about flying anyway.

Giving information is a double edged sword. Truth is important but not alarming people and confusing them is also important.

From what you have been told there was much confusion, which proves the point.

I feel for the Captain who was probably doing his best under considerable pressure to complete the flight safely with a tech problem, pressure from the company and the thought of what to do with all the passengers weighing heavily on his mind.

If he was a new command the situation he faced was perhaps one that he had not encountered before and believe me it often takes considerable strength of character to resist what can often become unbearable and unjust pressure. These things are never black and white.

It would be interesting to hear a full and accurate version of what happened.

[carlos vandango]

Methinks too much information to the punters with a half hearted threat to finish...BUT only if what's been told is in fact the whole story. Wouldn't be the first time the truth got lost in the mayhem.

[dbromle]

Thanks.
Accepting it's all second hand and lots of potential for misinterpretation in the mayhem, I couldnt understand why he didn't just say we're now safe to fly. Alternatively why Mytravel issued such a harsh ultimatum in the circumstances
Either way I gather the thing's splashed over the front page of todays local evening rag with lots of quotes from aggrieved passengers, which is hardly the PR the company needs.

[newswatcher]

HOLIDAYMAKERS had to board a plane plagued by technical problems or be left stranded in Minorca, angry passengers revealed today.

Passengers were due to fly back to Leeds Bradford Airport on Friday night, but some families refused to make the trip.
Families from Bingley, Harrogate, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Heckmondwike, refused to fly after their plane – My Travel flight MYT 392 – broke down twice on the airport.

They say that after farcical attempts to correct the problem – which included shifting luggage from the rear of the hold to the front, having passengers all disembark and then get back on at the front, and braking sharply on the runway – the captain, who had twice refused to take off, eventually said he was going to fly.

After asking for a show of hands of those prepared to board, the aircraft eventually took off and made it back to Leeds Bradford.
There it was immediately grounded for technical reasons, throwing flights at the airport into chaos over the weekend.

Among the 13 who refused to fly were Johnathan McMillan, 36, wife Fiona, 34, and children Ross, six, and Kirsty, two, of Burley in Wharfedale. Mr McMillan said that as the aircraft prepared to take off the captain said there was a problem with one of the baggage holds because an electrical fault meant the plane's computer thought it was in the air.

After an hour a delays the captain addressed the passengers standing on a chair and said they would try take off.

"He said could we have a show of hands about who was prepared to get on the plane."

Ewen Godfrey, 50, of Langley Avenue, Bingley, and his wife Deborah, also in her 50s, also refused to board.
Mr Godfrey, a senior education officer with Bradford Council, said: "A number of people were not happy. There were a lot of scared people." He said passengers were told accommodation on the island was full and they would have to pay for their own flights back if they did not board.

Finally 13 people refused to take off.

Former RAF pilot Maurice Atkinson, 72, from Woodside in Harrogate and wife Sheila, 69, were among them. He said the "catalogue of happenings" persuaded him not to board the aircraft. "People were complaining and feeling very, very uneasy," he said.

Sally Ramsay, marketing co-ordinator at Leeds-Bradford Airport, said they had been informed the 'plane was late due to "a technical problem.

"It was grounded due to a technical fault once it landed from Mahon in Minorca.

"A couple of engineers came over from Manchester and the aircraft flew out the next day."

A spokeswoman for My Travel said: "I did know about the later delays on Saturday. There were a few problems and consequent delays.

"They would never have flown that plane unless they knew it was safe, unless they knew it was going to get to the other end."

[Kestrel_909]

Comforting to know when I am flying out to Malaga on Sunday with them.
Next you'll be telling me it was and A320, I bet you will which is what I'll be on.

Sympathy for the captain though, not exactly your every day problem.:(

[Bus429]

Daily Telegraph article speaks of an interesting "recognised practice".

Article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/08/12/nofly12.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/12/ixnewstop.html)

[Anthony Carn]

Sympathy for the captain though, not exactly your every day problem
On the contrary, it's typical.

Not on the checklist, not in the books, no engineering support. Sort it out. Be inventive. Think on your feet.

Pressures from slots, operations, management, "we need that parking position", meals sat in the heat, pax thirsty, hundreds of eyes watching, do a PA - reassure, handling agents not co-operating, no coaches to offload pax, no space for pax in lounges, phonecall from engineering "Try running up and down the runway" :confused: , running out of duty hours, need to go into discretion, Jeez I'm tired (up at 4am , third early, noisy hotel), wish we were alowed crew food, I'm starving, do a PA again - reassure, paperwork (God, the paperwork), "We need your ground power unit" etc etc etc etc etc....................

It'll all be relatively peaceful once we're aibourne. Lets get airbourne. Lets leave this mess behind. Get home. Eat something. Go to bed and sleep.

Yes, that's typical. Main thing is to resist that temptation to just get airbourne. There may be even worse mayhem waiting at 35000ft if you do.

Get the idea ? :hmm:

[witchdoctor]

Guess who'll probably end up carrying the can for the PR disaster? You got it!:(