Problems With Planes ?

Every other day now there is a plane crash, or a scare, then today, in the USA the entire network was almost down.

Anyone any thoughts on this ?
is it just a huge coinsadence

Linkypoo

I have been asking myself the same question. Planes are dropping out of the sky all over the place. Even QANTAS who has one of the best reputations for safety.

And recently there have been a few stories of airline maintenance crews and other staff threatening to go on strike around the world….

LAX service workers vote to authorize a strike
Spanair pilots threatened strike an hour before crash
Lufthansa cancels more flights amid backlog
Qantas cabin crew rule out strike

reply to post by shauny


Well...."every other day"?

If you wish to include the entire Globe, including all of the Third World countries....most of that news doesn't really reach the media.

US Airlines have been having a greatly improved safety record, despite increasing traffic operations year-over-year. This mostly do to better training, specifically in the 'workig together' approach in a cockpit, getting well away from the 'authoritarian' approach of the past.

The FAA computer outage in Georgia....simply a sign of the crumbling FAA infrastructure. Using, for the most part, 1960s era computer technology that has been "upgraded" when it needed to be fully replaced. There WAS an enhancement done to the ARTCC systems, maybe a decade ago...but it, I am told, fell far short of what was needed....Reason? Funding.

The computer facility in Georgia handles flight plans for part of the country, mostly East and SouthEast, while the Salt Lake City does the rest...they're designed, I assume, to back each other up. There is far more traffic in the East and SouthEast, though....so SLC was overwhelmed.

And, remember....this was only about airplanes filing IFR flight plans (as all commercial flights do) and the need for the computer to communicate to the 'Big Boys' in DC, the ones who issue 'ground stops'.....they like to say it's 'flow control'. These are the guys and gals who decide to delay a flight from taking off, because of the weather at a certain destination airport, or region.

So, flights already operating? Not affected. Those waiting to leave? Delayed.

What really keeps the entire FAA Air Traffic Control system working is the human element. The controllers have sometimes less than sophisticated equipment to work with, but they still have a brain! Pilots are (usually)understanding, but can get frustrated....everyone is only human, after all.

Trying to explain all of this to non-pilots (passengers).....priceless!!

The US needs to spend the money to upgrade to real new computers, not just 'patches'....within one decade. Tell Congress.

Reason I say that is, there is a huge number of mandatory age retirements in the next decade, of controllers. Lots of experience walking out the door....but, if you're under the age requirement (can't remember....I think it's 30) and want an exciting career telling pilots what to do, then apply!!

reply to post by shauny


Yes, it's just a coincidence. Unless you have any actual evidence to suggest otherwise, it's an excercise in futility to suggest anything else.

Could it be attributed to:

1) Airlines worldwide are trying to cut costs to keep ticket prices competitive.
2) A lot of airplanes worldwide are getting "long in the tooth" age and mileage wise, and along with #1, just failing.
3) The more complex the system is, the easier it is to muck up the works, such as with the air traffic control system.

reply to post by CO Vet


or, far more likely,

4) A coincidence

Planes, and all airline equipment, like every other piece of hardware has a mean-time between failure (MBTF). It's statistically very likely that two, or even three or four will fail in a very short period of time.

A coincidence. i don't think too much