Continental Airline Tickets

When are these bloody airlines and especially American airlines going to learn?

Let me see if I've got this right - we can put a man on the moon, unravel the blueprint of life etc., etc., but what we can't do is protect the infrastructure on the outside of airliners from 'Sod's Law' i.e. 'SOD'S LAW, ALSO KNOWN AS MURPHY'S LAW. If anything can go wrong, it will do.' First their was Concorde, probably one of the most elegant jets ever built with a 30 year unblemished safety record bought down with a total loss of life by a piece of an American DC10 lying about on the runway - - and now, just the other day, this Airbus 320 was forced to ditch in the Hudson River, watched by people in their skyscrapers off New York, by, apparently from all accounts, a very brave and skilful pilot all because of a flock of geese or some other breed of birds! The common theme here, is that the cause of both these accidents was American in source i.e. Continental Airways with the fateful Concorde tragedy and American Airlines with this latest but much luckier fiasco. It doesn't take a genius to work out, especially with this latest accident, that air being sucked into a jet engine under great force mixed with a large amount of feathers, blood and bone is not going to have a happy outcome! Why oh why can't they put some sort of guard, wire mesh, I don't know - something on the front of these engies? I can here the arguments against in my ears now:- it will reduce the airflow's efficiency so the jet won't be able to fly properly or some other - I'm quite sure - surmountable problem. I know that birds are a big problem for airlines - here at our airports in the UK they've tried all kinds of gizmos to scare off unwanted birds. I suppose there are the inevitable well oiled and practiced risk-analysis calculations, that show the ratio between the number of incidents where airliners have been compromised by birds is not sufficient enough to justify the cost to altar any given airlines entire fleet engine design - after all, look what happened to the illustrious Concorde. It was going to cost a 'shiny penny' about a £1m I think, to put the same stuff in the wings as they do in bullet proof jackets - namely Kevlar - Concorde was taken out of service, which as far as I'm concerned is another tragedy and a missed oportunity - Branson was making noises about getting them up in the air again, but I suppose he's too busy with Virgin Galactic. And won't that be a bundle of fun when that endeavour goes pearshaped for similar reasons - what happens when meteorites hit his fleets engines - the Hudson will be a long way down to ditch his spacecraft won't they?!!! What was it J. F.Kennedy said in that famous speech of his before he was the next to be murdered:- "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard" Therein lies the problem I feel. We need some one in charge, especially over there, who has got some backbone like Kennedy, that will say to those that need it to be said to:- "Oi you lot - pull your fingers out and get this problem solved so we don't put anyone else's life at risk"! Maybe hopefully, if they let him live long enough, Obama will be that man - what do you think people?!!! katzy - Are you a BIMBO perchance?!!! roddysul - apart from being a member of what I have termed the MCS (Moral Coward Society) i.e. no contact info I - can't really see the relevancy of:- "and I seem to remember Concorde being an Air France one by the way" i.e. what does it matter if it was the English Concorde or the French one - the fault was squarely and soley that of the Americans - my point is they cause trouble everywhere! However, you answer wasn't a total waste of time - I found your next two statements very interesting and educational - so thanks for telling me about the frozen turkeys and that the wings were made in North Wales - is that important to you because you were born in North Wales or something?!!! Apparently, apart from having the perfect pilot to ditch this plane it also has its own 'ditch' switch, which when pressed 'seals' itself to become a life raft - so the pilot is hero and the aircraft is a hero now all we need is for the bloody manfacuterers to be heros when they designed these jets in the first place. If we've can have parking sensors on our cars and these big aircraft can have proximity warning detectors (or at least the airlines that would stump up the cash to install them) to alert pilots of aircraft on collision courses then why the hell can't we have a similar a system installed for the opening on engines attached to the wings - why in essence don't we enhance this idea of getting aircraft to protect themselves? Perhaps someone could educate me on on the physics of the whole thing - I know that when a plane any plane stalls it can fall out of the sky like a stone, but aren't aircraft also be able to 'glide' like gliders to a certain degree (continued) - and if they are - then when said goose/geese or nine million starlings decide to become kimikaze pilots, then why' can't a proximity shutter be connect ed to some for of shutter that is intern connected to the engine ignition system - much the same as when guns were timed to fire between the propeller blades of fighting aircraft - surely that would be better than having to push the bloody 'ditch' button in the first place and have to press that if the engines fail for other reason or for other reasons why an aircraft would be incapacitated - could some engine come back to me and say why this is or is not possible please - as it was the first thing that occurred to me - surely that kind of system can't be too complicated to conjour up and install - or as I have said before is it all about risk/analysis engines by the insurance companies?!!!! From what they were saying on the news 'birdstrikes' as they call it are very common - apparently a jet in Rome recently was nearly incapacitated by a flock of starlings - isn't it about time these jets EVOLVED like the animals are that are colliding with them?!!! Duh! And why we're about it, evolved inside as well - don't you think this drink/food trolley they use to serve customers is a bit behind the times as well? Just a thought people!!!

Public Comments

1. Is that a question or a book?
2. Well that was some rant, wasn't it? Actually I seem to remember a chap called Whittle invented the jet engine in this country, yes the UK, some time ago. With very little help from anyone and in a time of war. Maybe we need another war to advance the workings of the jet engine and to keep those naughty little birds out?
3. and I seem to remember Concorde being an Air France one by the way. They do test the engines by firing frozen turkeys into them - just unlucky both got hit at once. Nice to see that those fabulous wings built in North Wales managed to stay afloat
4. They learn as they go. You can't learn well unless you've made a mistake. Its just like finding out about something un-existent. Its not there, its invisible. All problems that happen on airlines, are dealt with and are lessons learnt.
5. Like my dad said when he flew your Spitfire in WWII " when i rolled it on it's back the bloody engine quit," also remember the Comet i believe it was also one of yours.(Sorry couldn't help my self).Anyway to your question- DITTO.and anyone will be better than the fleabag currently in office-only time will tell.
6. Why don't you take all your rhetoric and apply at Airbus and get off YA and get a real job.