I don't know what speed a Sea King cruises at but I suspect it might be less than a 737's minimum approach speed, so what is the point of sending 2 helicopters?, even if they could keepup with it what do they do then?

fritz, grow up.

skyrabbit, AEU is the Astraeus prefix. Air Europa's is AEA.

Quote from pasenger on bbc website:

"After that, there was a discussion between one of the passengers and the cabin crew - it was a little bit heated but not too bad," he said.

"One of the passengers leaned over and tapped one of the cabin crew on the shoulder.

"The next thing, we were descending at a rapid rate and heading to Cardiff.


Now, is this a classic example of the art of understatement? Or do his ideas of 'a little bit heated' and 'tapping on the shoulder' differ widely from most other people?

Helicopters scrambled? Perhaps it was all they had servicable? Next time it might be the staish's Ford Mondeo :)

Be interesting to see how this works out, from some reports it sounds very much like neither 'side' in this incident behaved very wisely.

As a Scotsman I am thoroughly ashamed by the behaviour of these so called football fans, unfortunately that is the mentality of these people, which is borne out by the comments made by Fritz.

BBC news report two f/a have been injured let’s hope not seriously, must have been two taps on the shoulder then!!!!!

I would deduce from what I saw on the TV News; the reason for RAF Seaking helicopters being scrambled, was entirely due to the Astraeus Captain declaring a mayday, and if the aircraft had subsequently ditched in the Bristol Channel, they would have been used for SAR operations.. Not sure about the Kinloss link there though.. certainly the Chivenor based aircraft would have been on scene pretty quickly.

With reference to the "Air Europa 737" statement; it would appear to be merely a mix up with AEU and AEA prefixs.

However, I bet the six arrested are now very much regretting their alleged actions! :rolleyes:

If (as it appears but subject to confirmation) there was significant disruption on board, I hope Astraeus push it as hard as they can in terms of legal action. There must be a number of Civil and Criminal offences which apply.

These serious incedents need to get high profile penalties to make people realise that abuse and disruption on board is simply NOT acceptable, and not worth it. We are seeing an increasing number of (minor) disruptive incidents in our outfit. Anything to raise the profile is welcome.

In trim.

as for the tap on the shoulder - well known Glaswegian understatement me thinks. Such as a "Glasgow kiss" :D

anyone got a link to the BBC site where the SLF is going on?

as for the scramble - I'm glad only SKs could be mustered. What if a Rangers fan was seated in an F3 or other responding aircraft with AAM aboard? could have decided to take the plane out "to be on the safe side" :D :D :D

Well done to the captain for calling a mayday and diverting, some might say he overreacted, but I can imagine having a few aggresive people acting like lunatics on a plane could effect the safety of the flight. the situation could have got worse had he not done so.
I wonder if the airline involved will be offering its services for the Stuttgart trip????? Don't think so!!!!

In" Clarification",
Beeb teletext said a/c div'd to EGFF, and Seakings scrambled from Kinloss.:rolleyes: I am [still] at a loss [sic] as to why?:confused:
we aim to please, it keeps the claners happy

Given the reported behaviour of his so-called passengers, personally I feel that the Captain did absolutely the right thing in order to protect his crew and aeroplane.

The calibre of some people who travel in airliners these days leaves much to be desired. It's about time that those who cannot behave in a civilsed manner aboard an aircraft were charged and sentenced with the utmost vigour.

perhaps some "canny" Scot thought he could have a cigerette on Ashtrays R Us.

Mayday mayday!! when the dust settles this will be No1, In aviation folklaw under heading OVERKILL.

AstoundMars ,
bearing in mind that you were not onboard the flight, and none of us here so far have been privey to what really happened ,to say it was overkill to call mayday may well be a little premature.

If as was reported on the local BBC and ITV news there was a massive fight on board and there was believed to be a threat to the safety of the aircraft it was not inappropriate.

This is where the difference between ATCOs and Pilots always shows , we would rather give overkill with regards to emergencies than be left with a horrible mess to clear up

flower:

Well said!!;)

Ok guys and girls, head up for the true story.

I have just returned from Cardiff having being briefed by the Crew and the Police.

A small group of passengers on board our flight from Santaigo to Glasgow,became seriously disruptive, abusive, and a member of Cabin Crew was assaulted.

The Captain was briefed by a very distressed Senior Cabin Crew member from the real galley, and had no option but to declare a Mayday and land in Cardiff based on the information available to him.

The flight was met by Police and 6 people have been detained. The remainder of the passengers have returned to Glasgow by bus.

Having been briefed by the police, I can assure you that actions taken by both the Flight and Cabin crew were entirely appropriate. We will be assisting the South Wales police in ensuring that appropriate charges are laid against the individuals in custody tonight in Cardiff.

I think you will find that the activation of Rescue Helicopters and Police levels is tied to new procedures put in place regarding any security type incident involving aircraft.

The injured Cabin Crew member was treated by ambulance on site and all crew and aircraft have now returned to Gatwick.

I have taken the liberty of deleting or editing the highly inappropriate comments made on this thread about supporters of a particular football club. This is not the place for such blatent racist remarks, and will not be tolerated on this board. Take it elsewhere please.

H

Thank you Hamrah for the truth, and BEagle, as always, for being absolutely spot-on.

I have watched this thread with growing dismay and astonishment at the judgemental remarks made by people who were not there.

Folks, if you haven't been involved in this sort of incident then you have no concept of how ugly and threatening it can be. I have had two, and I really, really don't want a third. A fight on an aeroplane is like a fire on an aeroplane - it can spread horribly quickly and the only thing to do is get it on the ground - as this, obviously thoroughly wise, Captain did.

The report I heard was that the Sea Kings were on Exercise in the Bristol Channel anyway. Don't know if anyone can confirm...

Hamrah,

Nicely put. Whatever the situation, the final say rests with the aircraft Commander when the aircraft is under his/her control.

So, for all the knockers out there who would have done it differently....... tell us when you have done it successfully and safely. Until then, I can see no need for tales of "OVERKILL".

You should have heard what Sheila Fogarty said on BBC Radio 5 live "Drive"......until Peter Allen slapped her down on air! Nice one Peter. Talk about a woman being misinformed on this occasion.....

I'm surprised and saddened by this. I took celtic fans to VLC a little while ago (as english cabin crew). They were boisterous and drunk, despite losing, but unlike other fans I've carried, weren't violent or looking for trouble. Their main contribution to the flight on the way home was in bodily fluids, not aggression, which believe it or not, is an improvement on many english clubs. In short, while I might not have chosen this flight from a pick list, it could have been much worse, and might have been with an english club. That said, 757 pax at doors 2 had to wade out when disembarking - and there were no diced carrots at all in the catering when it went in!

Celtic seemed to have their own "police", a sort of hard core of supporters wearing suits and lapel pins whose job it was to provide "guidance" to others. The system seems to have failed on this occasion.

Sympathies to the Astraeus crew involved. I bet that if those in the commercial department who set up the contract actually had to work with what they'd hired, there would be one hell of a lot less of this kind of work around. I'm sure that they were in a nice warm bed at the time... :cool: