Comair flight makes emergency landing

[Long Time Gone]

http://11alive.com/news/news_article.asp?storyid=31517

 

[surfnole]

Somene smoking or getting high in the bathroom start a fire?

 

[Long Time Gone]

Supposedly, the FBI and the NTSB were called to investigate the fire, which was termed suspicious. Obviously the NTSB would investigate it.

 

[VNugget]

Wow, so much for Mexican cuisine...

 

[ifly4food]

Comair Flight Makes Emergency Landing
Web Editor: Manav Tanneeru
Last Modified: 5/9/2003 9:38:08 AM

A Comair flight headed for Huntsville, Alabama made an emergency landing Thursday evening in Rome, Georgia.

Comair spokesman Nick Miller said no injuries were reported among the 48 passengers and three crew members on the 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ regional jet.

Miller said everyone was able to get off the plane in a normal manner, and passengers would be returned to Atlanta for another flight to Huntsville.

The passengers were going to be bused back to Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.

Miller says the plane was diverted because of smoke detected in the cabin. Local authorities said the smoke came from a fire in the lavatory of the plane.

The flight landed at the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome, Ga., about 7:50 p.m.

Floyd County fire, emergency services and police responded to the scene.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board were called to investigate the fire, which was termed suspicious.

Comair, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, according to the company's Web site.

I hate to be a Monday morning quarterback, but I'd love to see into that crew's decision making process as to why they diverted to RMG. They were basically within gliding distance of CHA, HSV, ATL. I'm not sure I would have chosen to put it down at an unattended, non-airline airport that doesn't have approved firefighting equipment.

 

[embdrvr]

I hate to be a Monday morning quarterback, but I'd love to see into that crew's decision making process as to why they diverted to RMG. They were basically within gliding distance of CHA, HSV, ATL. I'm not sure I would have chosen to put it down at an unattended, non-airline airport that doesn't have approved firefighting equipment.

It all depends upon how you interpret Ops Specs, QRH, and Flight Ops Manuals. We could get in to the semantics of what does "nearest suitable airport" mean to you. It's a tough decision. Does the extra time to get to a more suitable airport negate the risk of killing off pax from smoke inhalation? Of course now we have to look at emergency responder availablity as well.
Pilots have been violated for not landing at the closest airport in similar situations. Lots of factors running through your head in a condensed timeframe. Since everyone walked away unhurt I think the crew did an acceptable job. That's not to say I wouldn't be reviewing their actions myself though;-)

 

[Smoove Ride]

fire=bad

i might question the decision, but i'd be thinking about the DC-8 in Saudi Arabia that had a fire in the wheelwell on takeoff, by the time they made it around the pattern... the fire had burned thru all the hydraulic lines and they crashed before they made it back. i'd say the crew did an excellent job because time is so critical. an extra 5-10 minutes in the air could make all the difference. unless you get a SMOKE TOILET message, who knows what's on fire back there? in fact, we got a memo saying that it was appropiate to abort a takeoff for a SMOKE TOILET meassge.

anyone other than myself manage to get a SMOKE TOILET after a night of serious mexican food?

 

[Brother Francis]

Swissair 111

I read the TSB report. In reconstructing the timeline, it was determined that from the first indication of a problem- a little wisp of smoke- there was insufficient time to land at Halifax. Even if the crew had not tried to troubleshoot and then dump fuel, but had initiated an emergency descent and headed straight toward the runway, they still would have lost control and crashed 2 miles short.

Moral: Smoke of unknown origin: land now, if not sooner

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

I'm not sure where they were when it happened, but I have a pretty easy rule:

If I'm on fire, I'm putting that airplane down on the FIRST piece of concrete I can get to that will fit me. I don't give a squirt of rat urine if the have equipment, because I don't own the airplane, and my a$$ and the pax will be standing far away from it watching.

Smoke, Fire....Bad

Getting on the ground and out of the airplane...Good

 

[avbug]

You guys have it all wrong. There's nothing better than the smell of smoke in the cockpit.