TC 'Terrifies' Passengers - The Press at their worst
 

Terrified tourists boycott flight home after being told to sit at back 'to balance nose-heavy jet' | Mail Online

It must be a new requirement for aircrews to have no cares about their own safety.............

Either all the pax are too stupid to understand (possible) or the airline's communication skills are non-existent.

When no-one in authority is able to explain clearly that there's nothing to worry about, this is what you get.

Thank god they never had to travel on an ATP !!!
We regularly had to cram them so far down the back cos the thing was so damned nose-heavy.
In fact it was almost a miracle it ever got off the ground !
I suggest the "terrified" holiday makers stick to Blackpool in future...far safer on the M6.

:ugh:

Why does everyone keep posting Daily Mail articles on here???

Really guys, stop reading that ****. :ugh:

I'm sure that would be disconcerting for many people waiting to board if they witnessed this sort of thing then were told they had to sit at the back to balance the plane !

Not everyone knows about weight distribution and C of G issues in the passenger queue - more care in how it was presented to the passengers maybe . . .

MP

You have to read it - it's called entertainment.

Loosen up man.

Always best to take advice from an expert!

On a serious note, did the captain come out into the departure lounge to explain the situation and assuage any concern? I am sorry to say that the tone and style used by gate staff in this kind of situation is not exactly expert, neither is it reassuring.

Intelligent passengers often sit there and think 'ok, so he doesn't know what he's talking about, but at least the flight crew do'.

Must be a slack news day........ Mind you, all it takes is one pillock and things rapidly get out of hand.
What kind of reaction did the 17 y.o. expect to get from a mother who has a fear of flying??? Serves them all bloody right - I hope they can`t claim their airfares with EZY back - aircraft was perfectly OK for flight.
What`s this country coming to?

Is it standard practice to fly with a cargo door jammed that could burst open at any moment?

A little balance is required
 

The average passenger hasn't a clue why an aircraft can fly let alone understand centre of gravity issues. To many people, flight is not too far from magic and is only accepted because "science" says it can happen.

A lot of these folks have just seen recent footage of the results of a big airline disaster and, not surprisingly, are nervous.

As ever, the sensationalist press have a lot to answer for encouraging fear and allowing these kinds of mass hysteria to persist through sloppy and over the top reporting.

The key to quashing this kind of nonsense is for professionals to desmystify the whole thing. Professional friendly patience, openess and clarity of communication is paramount.

Why can't newspapers ever get it right?
 

It's not just the Daily Mail. France's apparently serious "Le Figaro" has printed some fairly crass nonsense about AF 447. On the other hand, Germany's trashy tabloid "Bild Zeitung" did at least explain why there's nothing to worry about in these photos: Nach Absturz von AF 447 - Solche Bilder machen Flugpassagieren Angst - News - Bild.de

heard on the speakers :
"in two minutes we have to make a left turn so if 30 of you would please go to the left side of airplane.
thanks "
:)

PAUL2412
Yes we regularly fly for hours on end worrying that the closed and locked cargo doors ( jammed! ) will burst open any second.
In fact I regularly sit at home watching that my closed dining room door doesn't burst open and cause absolute mayhem in the hall.
Have a word with yourself :ugh:

Jesus wept. Is this all there is to report today?

I've never been to Palma but wouldn't the inbound and outbound pax be seperated?

Also a little fact here has anyone here even been the target of a disgruntled group with a ringleader? I doubt even the most experienced Captain could calm an irate group down. All it takes is one person to be a bit daft, i.e. some young girl calling home to run around saying "My Mum says not to get on" and you end up in a situation that rapidly becomes uncontrollable. It's nothing to do with customer service training or the presentation of the issue and everything to do with mob mentality.

Isn't this a case of nervous passengers and 2+2 = 5 or more? I say that as a nervous passenger myself! It seems, though, that a connection was made between the bumpy inward flight and the jammed door. I can't say I see the link. Presumably the plane was balanced on its way in? If there had been the same weight problem on the previous flight, wouldn't that too have been flown with all the passengers down the back?

Where TC went wrong was in not getting everyone on to the plane and then telling them to sit anywhere. It's far easier to refuse to board rather than demand to get off again. Once on the plane, the captain could then explain why everyone needed to sit at the back and, more importantly, why safety regs allow him/her to fly the plane with a jammed (and locked anyway) cargo door. He/she should then have broken the link to the incoming bumpy flight by telling everyone how bad the turbulence had been on the way over and to apologise in advance for the expected bumpy flight home.

I think pilots sometimes forget that the bulk of their passengers find flying unnerving to a greater or lesser degree. 2 minutes spent explaining that the flight might not be very comfortable but certainly wouldn't be dangerous could have saved TC lots of time and bad publicity. In light of the AF accident recently, airlines and crew ought to be mindful that passengers are currently more worried than they were three weeks ago about flying in turbulent conditions. Irrational? Of course. It doesn't seem that way, though, six miles up when the plane appears incapable of flying in a straight line!

If it was jammed closed, how would it "burst open at any moment"?

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

Some people seriously need to get a life.

If they are that unstable and hysterical they should get the charabanc to Blackpool and make sure not to go up the Blackpool Tower.

So the captain asks them to move, and they then assume they are all going to die. Did they think the flight-deck and cabin crew all had parachutes/ejector seats.

It's amazing that people so thick are a) allowed a passport and b) allowed back in to the UK.

The aircraft operating the flight was a Mint air 752. Daily mail never mentions this. I also live in cramlington and recognise her. If I see her in the local I will educate her on weight and balance. This should prevent any problems if she ever flys with ryanair and finds the front and rear 6 rows blocked off for balance.

ShIfTy.

Oh dear. we're at Snob Factor 9 today, aren't we boys? "They should stick to Blackpool"... have a listen to yourselves. How do you cope with mixing with the peasants in the airport concourse?

It is a non-story in several ways but IF and it's a big IF the story has the facts correct:

1. The pilot / crew must have poor communication skills

2. I don't care who you are - if you're queuing for a flight and the arrivals are kissing the ground / sobbing / telling you not to get on the plane, you're seriously going to consider not boarding the thing!!

However, there's bound to be buckets of over-exaggeration in this story. Just try to show your fellow man a bit of love, eh?