April 29, 2016: Sometimes, ya just have a bad day or week:
- An American Airlines plan taking off from Seattle was “clobbered” by 2 birds and had to land and return to the gate. Birds left a two foot long dent in the planes nose cone. Birds around airports are extremely hazardous to airlines — and when hit and injected into an engine can cause an engine to shut down — happens more than we realize, especially on take off.
- A Delta jet, landing at the airlines super Atlanta hub was on a direct path to hit another plane that was crossing the runway from a taxiway — the air traffic controller realized his mistake and put the breaks on the taxiway plane just in time.
- Airline pilots should not drink and fly — more common that we know? Since 1995, more than 200 commercial airline pilots have been caught flying intoxicated — a record 10 drinking flying pilots in 2015. The most recent, a Jet Blue pilot, who flew round trip Orlando-New York with more than 3x’s the legal alcohol limit. His co-pilot reported him after seeing his flying partner drinking something out of a paper cup prior to boarding the plane and then again drinking from the same cup while seated in the cockpit. When questioned by authorities the pilot said his erratic behavior and alcohol smelling breathe was from the gum he was chewing! Really? This pilot could face up to 15 years in prison for “drinking and piloting”!!
