ATLLGA flight diverted

[Harry Callahan]

Last evening one of your atllga flights was diverted to CLT due to f/a finding a psgr with a bottle of water on board. The f/a said the water "smelled funny" thus the decision was made to divert the flight.
We are becoming a nation of cowards. Upon arrival in CLT hazmat & all "the whistles & bells" were called out.NOTHING WAS FOUND. Wow iminage that ? The psgrs were re checked & allowed to continue on including the "evil" psgr with the water.
Slam me if you wish but this whole crew should be fired or retrained at best.
FYI over on www.flyertalk.com
in the "travel safety & security forum" there are 4 pages of opinion on this. :down:

 

[citrus jock]

I won't "slam" you, but I will respectfully disagree with you on a few points, while agreeing with you on others. First, I agree that this whole "no liquids by passengers" thing is ridiculous. No liquids are allowed from outside of the security checkpoint past the checkpoint. Inside the checkpoint, liquids can be bought and consumed, but not brought onboard. This is akin to not allowing guns at the checkpoint, but then selling them at the newspaper stand on the concourses. Ironically, the same day of this incident, I was informed by a flight attendant that passengers were boarding with drinks in hand. She asked if "policy" had changed. After checking with my dispatcher, I was told "no liquids" was still the rule. I then asked the gate agents why passengers were on board with their own drinks, and was told that they buy them on the concourses, put them in their carry-ons to hide them from the agents at the top of the jetway, then pull them out once onboard. This could all be remedied by having the TSA search everyone's carry-on at the top of the jetway (causing even more delays), or we could use common sense and believe that the cokes, coffee, and water sold on the concourses aren't explosive. Also, on the 717, our crew bags are stored in the cabin overheads. Passengers can't have their own liquids, but they have access to ours. Secondly, I agree with you that the crew involved in the diversion needs more training. Not REtraining, but MORE training. We all do. As of the date of the diversion and my incident at the gate, we were given no guidance as to what to do in these instances. I could have done anything - from what I did do (take the drinks from the passengers), to deplaning and reboarding (useless), to calling for the TSA (insert theme from "Mighty Dog"...here I come, to save the daaaaay). Which brings me to where I (again, respectfully) disagree with you: In the air, things are much different from on the ground. In the air, I can't deplane or call the TSA. I can ACARS my dispatcher and get guidance (not sure if the Capt. of the diversion did this or not; my guess is that he did, because planes usually don't divert without the concurance of both Capt. and dispatcher). Also, "smelled funny" means different things to different people. If I fart, I think it smells funny. Trust me man, you wouldn't! And, since 9/11, we aren't allowed (per our FOM) to open the cockpit door and go back to see if a F/A's "smells funny" is the same as our "smells funny". Bottom line: without being in the cockpit on that flight, I can't say I would or wouldn't have done the same thing. That there was no guidance on what to do, prior to this flight, is something that never should have happened. And, the TSA needs to understand how unenforceable and useless this rule is.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

Like Citrus, I won't slam you either. Perhaps the F/A over reacted but then again, What if? I'd rather be delayed and alive than delayed dead. IMHO, it is assinine to not allow liquids onboard. If the TSA can't catch it at the checkpoint, THEY ought to be fired. To purchase a bottle of water on the airside and not be able to take it with you is stupid. Gate Agents aren't the brightest in the platoon either. Today, I walked past them and started down the Jetway with my bottle of water in my hand. This is after talking to her and drinking right in front of her. Half way down, I realized I had it, stopped and went back out to finish it, laughing all the way. Just another day in Aviation Paradise.... QA

 

[airport]

Also, on the 717, our crew bags are stored in the cabin overheads. Passengers can't have their own liquids, but they have access to ours.

Are you saying that flight crews are allowed to carry liquids on board? If so, I didn't know that.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

Are you saying that flight crews are allowed to carry liquids on board? If so, I didn't know that.

Yes. Flight Crews in Uniform are exempt from all this crap. B)

 

[citrus jock]

I heard from a dispatcher friend of mine some more info on this incident: Sitting behind the passenger who opened the bottle of water was another passenger who had brought along an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). The passenger with the MRE had just added some sparkling, legally received from the flight attendant, crawling with who knows what, potable water to his fine cuisine. The rehydration process occured just as the passenger with the "illegal" water opened his bottle. The flight attendant thought the stench from the MRE was coming from the newly opened bottle of water, thus setting in motion the events that eventually led to the diversion. Having partaken of my share of MREs, I can attest to the offending odor emitted from them. The only time I looked foward to an MRE was when I hadn't eaten all day, and only then knowing that I would be immersing it in the Tabasco sauce that came with it. It's understandable to me that a flight attendant with no knowledge of what an MRE is would have been alarmed. Pre-9/11, a pilot (with possible military/MRE experience) could have gone back in the cabin and simply verified that there are in fact people willing to pay ($10/MRE last I saw, many years ago) for feces on a shingle.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

I heard from a dispatcher friend of mine some more info on this incident: Sitting behind the passenger who opened the bottle of water was another passenger who had brought along an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). The passenger with the MRE had just added some sparkling, legally received from the flight attendant, crawling with who knows what, potable water to his fine cuisine. The rehydration process occured just as the passenger with the "illegal" water opened his bottle. The flight attendant thought the stench from the MRE was coming from the newly opened bottle of water, thus setting in motion the events that eventually led to the diversion. Having partaken of my share of MREs, I can attest to the offending odor emitted from them. The only time I looked foward to an MRE was when I hadn't eaten all day, and only then knowing that I would be immersing it in the Tabasco sauce that came with it. It's understandable to me that a flight attendant with no knowledge of what an MRE is would have been alarmed. Pre-9/11, a pilot (with possible military/MRE experience) could have gone back in the cabin and simply verified that there are in fact people willing to pay ($10/MRE last I saw, many years ago) for feces on a shingle.

Excellent... Pax buys a bottle of water, shoves it in his Carry-on, boards.... Mr. MRE opens his SOS as Green card opens his H20 and we have a diversion... Brilliant, just Brilliant. Soon they will be testing the gas we pass... I'm gonna make them pay