Bad luck or bad maintenance?

[btacon 1,788]

Qantas still holds the record as the only major carrier to never have a fatal. That said, their employees are concerned and want assurances that this is not becoming a trend. I would suspect we will see more of these type events as economic pressures force airlines to skip optional preventative maintenance and do only what is required by regulation.My 2 cents,bthttp://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=08...&show_article=1Qantas flight attendants want assurances from management that the Australian carrier's planes are safe after a third mid-air incident in two weeks, a union official said Sunday.

[BIGSKY 316]

The media plays up these incidents to sell products. These things happen every day,http://avherald.com/ That's not to take away the fact that company's are cutting corners. It's a fine line between airworthiness and economics.

[rightseater 0]

I have to agree that the media essentially decides how important these incidents are. When I was still with the now extinct Skybus, we caught all kinds of media attention in our area (North Florida) whenever there was even the slightest mishap. This was because Skybus was a budget airline, and the media took that to mean that we were unsafe, which couldn't be further from the truth. I had more strict in-house regulations at Skybus than I did when I was with American.-Jeremy

[XWRed5 0]

>Qantas still holds the record as the only major carrier to>never have a fatal. Much as I agree with the other posters on this thread about the media's effect on people's perceptions of airlines safety ... (and to quote my broker) : Past performance is no indication of future returns.Make no mistake, Qantas is no more or less safe than any of the other major US or European carriers, statistics notwithstanding.I believe it was Benjamin Disraeli who said "There are lies, damned lies and statistics".Let's not join the media with our wild hysteria eh?Food for thought,Ian

[BIGSKY 316]

People in the industry know that these are in all actuality,non safety of flight items. But the non technically aware public thinks that the aircraft will come screaming out of the sky at the slightest defect.Thats not to take away the fact that Qantas outsourcing to India will probably result in a big smoking hole in the future.

[btacon 1,788]

Another example of Maint. shortcuts that have a safety impact?My experience as an aviation professional (15 years USAF) is where there is smoke, there probably is fire.bthttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...bunited04m.htmlA United Airlines flight bound for San Francisco from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sunday evening was forced to make an emergency landing after a row of seats gave way during takeoff and slid into the row behind it, injuring one passenger.

[Guest zacharace]

>I have to agree that the media essentially decides how>important these incidents are. When I was still with the now>extinct Skybus, we caught all kinds of media attention in our>area (North Florida) whenever there was even the slightest>mishap. This was because Skybus was a budget airline, and the>media took that to mean that we were unsafe, which couldn't be>further from the truth. I had more strict in-house regulations>at Skybus than I did when I was with American.>>-JeremyJeremy, I can relate; living in Columbus (KCMH, Skybus hub) our local media gave them a lot of sometimes unfair and overhyped coverage, especially during the downfall and collapse. As an earlier poster said, it's all a delicate balance.

[rightseater 0]

We definitely had to deal with a lot of poor coverage, and it did hurt Skybus to an extent. But the biggest problem was trying to remain a budget airline in an environment that didn't permit it. Fuel costs alone prevented the $30 seats they were trying to promote. The A319 is a comparitevly efficient aircraft, but you just can't fly someone 800 miles on $30 of fuel. The goal was to make up for the difference with self check-in, internet only ticket purchasing, and minimal in-flight service, but that just wasn't enough. The media hurt us by relating cost savings to a lack of safety. Our makeshift hangar in St. Augustine did not go over well on the news, but they failed to mention the exceptional credentials of those performing the maintenance. The most outrageous report I ever saw was when a Jacksonville news station talked about our salaries, and somehow managed to convince people that pilots making less money were less qualified to do there job. I took the paycut to go to Skybus as an F/O so that I could relocate for my wife's job, not because I was unqualified to fly for American. On a side note, I lived in Dayton for a few years. Loved the countryside, but could do without those winters. You might consider a trip down this way sometime....just leave the snow at home.

[Geofa 108]

They probably had to put bandaids on their knees when the seat hit.Out of millions of flights a year a seat pin fails on 1 aircraft?Then again-the seat pin on my left seat passenger seat in my Baron has likewise after 30 years given way. We will repair it-but no news story here....yet....GeofaMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[Cessnaflyer 56]

It's good they are gone. They brought the standards of flight crew pay and respect way down. Pilots that had to go pick up the company water at costco on their off time with no pay.Flight Attendants that were paid only $9 an hour and had to work off of commission just to make a meager wage. Yes we are only blue collar labor even as educated as we all are as flight crew but a little respect is in order for how we operate and get millions of people safely to their destinations day in and day out.I'm sorry you had to lose your job and I hope you got a free type in the bus, but it is a good thing for the industry as a whole.http://zerotoboston.com/wp-content/uploads.../04/skybust.gif

[rightseater 0]

Your "Skybust" logo is tasteless and shows no class. Skybus put food on my families table, and I don't need there demise rubbed in my face. However, I actually agree with much of what you say.The flight attendants were paid poorly and did not get the respect they deserved. In all fairness, they were not forced to work there, and they could have applied at any airline they wish or flipped burgers, but once wearing a Skybus uniform they should have been paid well and treated with dignity and respect. This was not the case from my point of view. The pilots were also paid poorly and not given the respect we have earned. I spent a lot of time getting to where I am today, including time in the Navy, Spartan College of Aeronautics, the Ohio State University, and 4 years with American Airlines. I was shocked that my starting pay at Skybus was less than half of what I made with American, but again, I was not exactly forced to go to Skybus. I was also disgusted to learn that a five year Captain at Skybus would have made less than a first year F/O with most major carriers. We were given stock options, but that doesn't do a lot of good when a company goes bankrupt overnight.What many people do not know, however, is that things were about to change at Skybus. I was one of many who signed a petition to unionize, which would have led to major changes at Skybus. This may have played a role in Skybus going belly up prior to exhausting there investements because a union would not have tolerated much of what we had to deal with. Skybus had its issues, and chances are that I would not have stayed there had we not unionized, but I fail to see how they caused any change of standard to the rest of the industry. I can't think of any airline that chose to follow the Skybus business model. I did get type rated, and am fortunate enough to have found a much, much better airline. Unfortunately none of the A320 series aircraft are in there fleet. So in that regard I am now happy to no longer be with Skybus, but the transition was pure #### on me and my family.

[byork 2,259]

>They probably had to put bandaids on their knees when the>seat hit.Wonder if the airline charged them for the band-aid :-)Bryan

[Cessnaflyer 56]

It's good to hear that all worked out in the end for you. What I meant with lowering the standards for the industry was that when other pilot groups had to go to the table the airline would surely use the Skybus pilot group against their own pilot group as an example for new wages.

[rightseater 0]

Fair enough. I just wish we would have had time to get into the union. That would have made a huge difference. It makes sense to me that Skybus folded in part because of our intent on unionizing, but they used a different excuse. They did not have the investment to continue having to pay us decent salaries.