Delaware gov declared emergency
 

.....and so all the intrepid Flightsafety students arrived at Wilmington today from all over the world, only to be told that the guv had declared an emergency, so they had to close(!) As of now, it is just raining, so several tried to get the ground instructor to do the class at the hotel, so they could start with Sim when emergency is over......nope.

My FO has birthday today, but all the shops, restaurants etc closed and we are not permitted to drive(!)

As long as we keep power, we have some water and sandwiches etc. but if the power goes, only emergency lighting, no running water, no heat, no frig or micro to heat food. Exciting! La la la

Iceland and northern Denmark, Scotland all have this level of rain and wind, but the worst is yet to come. High tide now, storm surge on the coast and up to 8 inches rain forecast......

We will see........

That would be "Canarsie."

Probably not worth risking a landing in 55 knot winds and then get on the ground to find that nobody is there to service the aircraft as I am sure many will fail to show up for work due the massive evacuations ordered.

Jfk 291451z 03027g38kt 5sm -ra br bkn014 ovc025 14/12 a2913 rmk ao2 pk wnd 04041/1437 slp865 p0001 60003 t01390122 57062
kjfk 291436z 2915/3018 03032g44kt 4sm -ra ovc012
fm291800 03036g52kt 2sm +ra ovc008
fm300000 08042g60kt 2sm +ra ovc007
fm300200 13045g65kt 3sm shra ovc010
fm300500 15038g60kt 4sm -shra ovc015
fm301100 16032g50kt 6sm -shra bkn035
fm301700 16028g42kt p6sm bkn050

And then find a stray luggage bin embedded in the side of your fuselage. Or the aircraft blown sideways into a jetway. Or worse. :ugh:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/iln/Gallery/Damage/damage57.jpg

Flightaware gives an idea of just how little air traffic there is over NYC this morning:

FlightAware

One made it out of EWR a little while ago and is routing round the weather:
FlightAware

Yep, they had to get some of the guys down to MCO for NBAA's convention....:D

No we don't - certainly not sustained 90mph winds.

On a different note - as part of my work I once flew as pax through a hurricane (Floyd) with the US Hurricane Hunters in a C130. Impressive, to put it mildly, but also surprisingly smooth ride, even when punching through the eye wall.

Seat 0A - Public transport shut down in NYC, BOS etc. How are employees/PAX supposed to get to/from the airport? Everyone jump in their car? Its not just wind. Storm surge 6-10 ft forecast in NYC area, 3-6 ft elsewhere. Hopefully it wont be that bad and we will be back up and running soon. A storm that affects 50 million people is a pretty serious event.

FerrypilotDK,
Sorry you have been inconvenienced, such is life.
Consider yourself fortunate to be in Wilmington (a dubious fortune normally) as you are at the SW edge of this nasty storm.

Those actuals happen every winter at Belfast City Airport! What's the big deal..?

172driver

I've spoken to some of the Hunter pilots over the years. They all said many storms, with a good nav working the radar, would be very smooth, BUT, every once in awhile, you would be positive that you wouldn't survive the turbulence. They only lost one, IIRC, appears to have LOC at low altitude. Not much was found.

172 driver, the TAF for JFK indicates only gusts up to 65 kts. Maximum sustained wind is 45 kts. Too much for a 172, but for a large jet?
Again, not wishing to sound dismissive, but the TAF for JFK is really not that extraordinary for any given major airport in NW Europe.

edit: only thing I could find quickly was a maximum surface wind at Amsterdam Schiphol at October 27, 2002 of 69 kts.
The country didn't shut down that day. But then again, only 16 million people affected :)

Now if the governor decides to shut down the entire state, the economics of continuing to fly are of course not good. I understand that.

Standard practice, much safer at sea then risking damage alongside.

What's all the fuss about?

Just seen the footage of Atlantic City, NJ, today as the storm approached.

It's just like Blackpool on a good day.

Think it was a joke..."Canasty"....

You guys are right. Its just a hurricane. All of the Podunk airports the world over would be fully operational right now, handling their hundreds of passengers without pause!!

In 2011 the US news media rather carelessly missed predicting the extent and coverage of the "Hallowe'en Nor'easter" only a few months after wildly underestimating the ferocity and damage associated with Hurricane Irene as it hit the North East. As a consequence, the US news media have introduced a new weather reporting system:

Level 1 - Oh my Christ, it's coming and there's nothing you can do.
Level 2 - Dear God, the water's coming in and the roof just came off.
Level 3 - I've just peed my pants.
Level 4 - Somebody not living in New York fell in a puddle.

Not to underestimate the danger and damage associated with Sandy, but the hysteria is helping no-one.

...and yet life and commerce will go on. It puts into perspective the large amount of non-essential air travel, doesn't it? Looking at it with a jaundiced eye, is not most travel non-essential these days? ("I simply must go to Tuscany, its on my bucket list!") When the Trans-Atlantic cable was laid, people said ocean travel would be drastically reduced. With conference calling in the 1960s, and now with internet, SAT phones and HD i-pads, do we really need to cross the Atlantic by the thousands every day? Let alone the Pacific and every continent on the globe. ... Yes, in an aviation forum, these are heretical posits, so classify me a pariah. Have I traveled overseas and crossed continents? Yes, call my a hypocrite, but I truly do not yearn to see Machu Picchu, The Louvre, or the solid waste and sewage contamination problems on the formerly pristine Galapagos Islands. Have I seen Chichen Itza? Yes. Am I better for it? Nope. Before you type me a barb, remember I said "most travel" not all travel.

My homedrome, KBDL, routinely deals with 8"to 12" snowfalls, had 75" in six weeks several years ago; how is it London seems to stop at a few flurries? I was there a couple of winters ago, you could see grass thru the snow cover and people were acting like "Armageddon" had arrived.

Horses for courses, Seat 0A