Consumer Reports raises concerns about outsourced airline maintenance

[Frank Szabo]

Wt I was just getting under your skin, I know we have to wait to see the facts, but I know the tail cone was not rigged properly by the way it deployed, we rig them on my dock all the time
The tail cone should have deployed as soon as the aft entry door opened, it has to be armed in flight in case a passenger has to use it for an emergency, yes there is a handle on the left side in the back of the aft accessory.
The video showed the tail cone hanging from the teather thats pulls the slide out and deploys it.
The tail cone should have fell to the left out of the way of the slide, not hang under the tail.
Conclusion not rigged properly. ,

Don't waste your time explaining detailed mechanics and function to a loser know-it-all. Put the SOB on ignore as many others have.

 

[sixty/4]

you~re just like Bob. Push your agenda first and then figure out later whether the facts actually support them. Apparently the answer on the DL forum wasn't enough that the tailcome is designed so that there may be a two step tailcone release process which you would think AA people would know given that they are still (IIRC) the largest M80/D9 operator in the world. The FA apparently decided it wasn't necessary to go down the catwalk to pull the other release since the flight had a fairly light load.
As for the brakes, let's wait for the facts but there were reports that it might have been a fast and hard landing... suppose the pilots were outsourced and he/she was doing his first M80 landing - or worse yet couldn't read English to know the correct landing speed?
facts do wonders to increase the credibility of the argument.... but the problem is you have to be willing to live with the consequences of those facts.

It doesnt matter which handle you pull the slide should have deployed, get your facts straight WT.

 

[eolesen]

Let me get this right... An anonymous career Internet forum poster is more qualified to comment on how the MD8x tailcone is rigged than the guys who maintain it??....

Even over on the DL soapbox Forum, the mechanics all seem to be saying the same thing as the AA guys...

Stick to what you know, Tim.

 

[eolesen]

Biggest question remaining seems to be whether or not the door was armed when it was opened.

If it was armed, then it was rigged incorrectly.... If the door was disarmed, then it's a different situation, no?...

When I was an agent, we had to be checked out on operating the stairs for the 727, but weren't allowed to drop from inside on the MD80 at all, so I don't know how easy it is to pop the cone by mistake.

 

[Tater Salad]

Biggest question remaining seems to be whether or not the door was armed when it was opened.

If it was armed, then it was rigged incorrectly.... If the door was disarmed, then it's a different situation, no?...

When I was an agent, we had to be checked out on operating the stairs for the 727, but weren't allowed to drop from inside on the MD80 at all, so I don't know how easy it is to pop the cone by mistake.

This is simple people, if the vault door(aft cabin door) is armed, when it is opened, the tailcone drops and slide inflates.
If it is not armed, you can open the door all day and nothing happens. Let's say the F/A decided for some weird reason to disarm the door in an emergency, open the vault door, and then pull the secondary handle in the tail compartment, the SAME thing happens. The tail cone drops, and the slide inflates. If the tailcone is on the ground, the slide is as well, or it wasn't rigged right.

 

[eolesen]

Crystal clear, thank you!

 

[strikeforce]

This is simple people, if the vault door(aft cabin door) is armed, when it is opened, the tailcone drops and slide inflates.
If it is not armed, you can open the door all day and nothing happens. Let's say the F/A decided for some weird reason to disarm the door in an emergency, open the vault door, and then pull the secondary handle in the tail compartment, the SAME thing happens. The tail cone drops, and the slide inflates. If the tailcone is on the ground, the slide is as well, or it wasn't rigged right.

you may be right that the slide wasn't rigged correctly, but that doesn't mean it was rigged in a 3P hack shop. That slide could have been packed by a slide shop with licensed A&P's, right? Also, we just don't how many times that particular aircraft went thru a "B" check equivalent Delta check, right? That slide is an RII backcheck during our B checks.

Just too much info. that we don't have at our disposal. Let's stop assuming and get the facts.