Repair Lapses Led To Us Air Crash

[DCAflyer]

Nearly 14 months ago, a plane carrying Tereasa Shepherd's daughter and 20 others stalled at 1,100 feet, then plunged to the ground at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

Today, when the National Transportation Safety Board issues its conclusions on what caused the crash, Shepherd will be watching to see who is held accountable.

Charlotte Observer Article



NTSB to propose repair changes Plane crash inquiry to pinpoint maintenance work, excess weight

WASHINGTON -- Federal accident investigators will call today for changes in how airlines maintain their planes when they meet to decide what caused the crash last year of a commuter flight in which 21 people were killed.

USA Today Article

 

[A320 Driver]

and the mgmt team wants to outsource the airbus work---i bet mgmt wont fly on the first airbus that had outsourced maintaince done to it!!!

Yeah and I bet the wheels fall off and everything!!!


Oh PaLeeez!

There are very compelling reasons for keeping the work in-house, but let's not get ridiculous...OK?

A320 Driver

 

[ITRADE]

Interesting that the USA Today article does not mention the words "US Airways" one. single. time.

 

[sentrido]

The argument about weather US should do the heavy maint in house or not really does not hinge on the quality of the work. Its on the interpretation of a pretty solid contract. Even if outsourced maint was better, It doesnt matter. The company can take up the issue when the contract expires.

 

[insp89]

The argument about weather US should do the heavy maint in house or not really does not hinge on the quality of the work. Its on the interpretation of a pretty solid contract. Even if outsourced maint was better, It doesnt matter. The company can take up the issue when the contract expires.

sentrido, Well said! ....... The issue is the company's attempt to STEAL the airbus work.... It' going to be interesting if{ 7 out of the 13 } Pennsylvania judges have enough integrity to vote AGAINST the company's sleazy litigation.

 

[BoeingBoy]

ITRADE,

You are correct. Anyone can sell tickets on any airline. The plane had "Express" on the side. The NTSB report said Air Midwest, not US Airways. Many of the articles didn't mention US Airways, except in the context of "operated for/as".

When the lawsuits were/are filed, did/will they leave out US Airways too?

Jim

 

[Flying Titan]

Exactly - for Express.

Whoever sold the tickets is wholly irrelevant. Any airline can sell tickets for any airline.

The fact of the matter is that the finances and managerial decisions made by Air Midwest are not made by any employees of US Airways.

As a passenger, I have never bought a ticket to fly on "Air Midwest" or any other contract carrier. When I buy a ticket to fly on US Airways - it's on US Airways in my mind - whether its an aircraft actually flown by Mesa, Shuttle America or any other entity. It's US Airways' reputation on the line here with the public - the paying customer - not some outfit that 99-percent of the public has never heard of.

It's critical to partner with the best possible affiliates for "express" flying and then hold them to the highest standards. The same holds true for any work that is outsourced. If a plane goes down for whatever reason (short of terrorism) - the paint on the outside of the plane will determine who takes the blame because that's who the public will recognize.

 

[diogenes]

I have no doubt the palace intended for the series of subcontracting to act as cut-outs, inoculating U from liability.

Doesn't seem to be working.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

Regardless of what the NTSB report says regarding it being an express affiliate.

The Court of public opinion has been bombarded with the the link to USAirways as a whole for well over a year now.

I was in PIT on the day of the crash...and I saw how it was blasted across the news there...and upon my return to CLT a few days later...I saw more of the same , only worse.

Many passengers outside the confines of these boards do not have the grasp of the differences between what seperates Mainline , Wholly Owneds and contract affiliates. They simply see and hear the name USAirways and that's the limit of their knowledge and research interests.

I have been questioned countless times by people in public whom know where I work....and 99% of those whom have asked questions regarding that crash had no idea that U was so fractional in regards to the number of companies that make up the USAirways group and associated operations.

I have also had people ( the less intelligent) tell me that they would never fly on a commuter plane for any reason...and a few isolated comments were made about not flying on USAirways period. The words USScareways has also been tossed at me on a few occasions too. I have to be carefull to not lash out when I bristle to such terminology.

The issue is how we are written and spoken about in the press...and how it's precieved by those reading and listening.....and the crux of the matter is this. The crash drew tons of press using the U name...and the NTSB report will only draw press for maybe a day or so. The crash is still referenced more than a year later...and un-like the NTSB report...he U name remains in the forefront.

 

[tim]

Regardless of what the NTSB report says regarding it being an express affiliate.

The Court of public opinion has been bombarded with the the link to USAirways as a whole for well over a year now.

I was in PIT on the day of the crash...and I saw how it was blasted across the news there...and upon my return to CLT a few days later...I saw more of the same , only worse.

Many passengers outside the confines of these boards do not have the grasp of the differences between what seperates Mainline , Wholly Owneds and contract affiliates. They simply see and hear the name USAirways and that's the limit of their knowledge and research interests.

I have been questioned countless times by people in public whom know where I work....and 99% of those whom have asked questions regarding that crash had no idea that U was so fractional in regards to the number of companies that make up the USAirways group and associated operations.

I have also had people ( the less intelligent) tell me that they would never fly on a commuter plane for any reason...and a few isolated comments were made about not flying on USAirways period. The words USScareways has also been tossed at me on a few occasions too. I have to be carefull to not lash out when I bristle to such terminology.

The issue is how we are written and spoken about in the press...and how it's precieved by those reading and listening.....and the crux of the matter is this. The crash drew tons of press using the U name...and the NTSB report will only draw press for maybe a day or so. The crash is still referenced more than a year later...and un-like the NTSB report...he U name remains in the forefront.

Excellent post, great counter points....soooooo where's Itrade???????????

320. Hope for your sake and everyone else of course, the wheels DON'T fall off!

I remember an engine doing just that.

 

[ITRADE]

Regardless of what the NTSB report says regarding it being an express affiliate.

The Court of public opinion has been bombarded with the the link to USAirways as a whole for well over a year now.

I don't think I've seen a single news article questioning US Airways maintenance practices as it related to Air Midwest 5431. That is because the focus has been on Air Midwest itself and Mesa.

I was in PIT on the day of the crash...and I saw how it was blasted across the news there...and upon my return to CLT a few days later...I saw more of the same , only worse.

Well, sure, you're always going to hear news about an incident in the location where the incident took place. So, what's your point.

Many passengers outside the confines of these boards do not have the grasp of the differences between what seperates Mainline , Wholly Owneds and contract affiliates. They simply see and hear the name USAirways and that's the limit of their knowledge and research interests.

True, but that is why you'll note that several sources have accurate characterized the crash as one involving an Air Midwest aircraft and Raytheon, not US Airways. A perfect example of this was today's USAToday article. Another example is the Reuters article that was the original post in this thread.

I have also had people ( the less intelligent) tell me that they would never fly on a commuter plane for any reason...and a few isolated comments were made about not flying on USAirways period. The words USScareways has also been tossed at me on a few occasions too. I have to be carefull to not lash out when I bristle to such terminology.

This is one reason why US Airways was advocating an increase in regional jet flying several years ago. Unfortunately, certain folks were not listening and were instead protecting fences.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

I don't think I've seen a single news article questioning US Airways maintenance practices as it related to Air Midwest 5431. That is because the focus has been on Air Midwest itself and Mesa.



.

Itrade....It is NOT about USAirways maintenance being questioned in this regard.

The issue is the USAirways name being drug into the mess period !!...and how the less educated flying public reacts to it. Remember...the passengers are casting thier votes with their wallets...and we do not need to aligned with or subjected to anything that is or is precieved to be less than 100% safe.



The rest of your post is not even worth bothering with.



BTW ...the local (CLT) CBS News affiliate (WBTV) just ran the story about the NTSB report....and they used the words USAirways Flight 5481....no mention other than the word "Commuter" would indicate to the flying public that this was not an actual USAirways flight. They never once uttered the word "Express" or "Contract Affiliate" So the stigma will remain with us in the minds of many a potential paying passenger

 

[ITRADE]

The rest of your post is not even worth bothering with.

its hard to argue against brilliance, so I understand your reservations about actually responding.

 

[BillLumbergh]

We're drifting here.

 

[E-TRONS]

Hey ITRADE:

In regard to your philosophy on third party maintenance you are comparing apples to lemons.

DELTA performs third party maintenance for customers to the same quality standards as they do their own fleet, using their own employees.

SWA grew their airline while simultaneously growing an outsourcing program that works for them. This is primarily attributed to a large oversight by SWA of their contractors.

UAIR simply picked ST Mobile Aerospace because it's in Bronner's state of Alabama and because Mobile Aero was most likely the lowest bidder. And the oversight is not nearly close to that which SWA applies to their outsoursing program. Look up the numbers yourself. Not to mention that Mobile employs many non-certificated maintenance personnel from all over the earth. It's just another airplane to them that they probably will never see again.

The airline business has been overrun by the bean counters and their blindness of the fact that you get what you pay for. Cheaper is not necessarily better when you consider the long term. A/C 700 is the poster child of this case in point. Do it correctly the first time or repeatedly at what cost? So much for savings.

You will NEVER match the quality of an inhouse maintained A/C at any third party facility that has financial penalties tied to the work being completed on time as with Mobile Aerospace. And if you think this is not true then you are a fool plain and simple. The difference being that inhouse employees have a vested interest in the A/C that they maintain....the ones that fly their family members on a routine basis. You can't say that for a third party vendor's employees can you?

Anyway, quit stirring the pot ITRADE because many a livelyhood are tied directly to this breach of labor agreement known as outsourcing. And if you are ever in CLT be sure to stop by the FLT. 5481 memorial....it's right near the hangar that it hit. 21 lives gone due to some moronic idea of saving a couple of bucks by outsourcing. Bravo. <_<

A320PILOT: The wheels DO FALL OFF when the crew lands with the parking brake set.......you wouldn't know anyone that did that would you? :down: Maybe you would like some pictures???