Delta Air Lines Flight Attendant Picks Fight with News Anchor

A Delta Air Lines flight attendant picked a fight with a New York news anchor, who voluntarily removed himself from the flight to avoid the confrontation on October 31:

The brouhaha erupted during boarding of Flight 6707 to Kansas City when Carter bent over to tie his shoelaces and bumped into the man as he stood up. The steward took exception to the inadvertent contact and called cops and a ground operator supervisor, officials said.... Several law-enforcement sources said the flight attendant, who recognized Carter, over-reacted and credited the anchor for ending the dust-up by volunteering to walk away.

Source: NY1 star 'bumps' himself off flight

(Note that DL 6707 is operated by Comair, a 100% owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and one of worst regional airlines in the U.S.)

Bird Strike Damages Delta Air Lines MD-90

A Delta Air Lines MD-90 flying from Phoenix to Salt Lake City (DL 1232) on Nov. 2 was damaged by a bird strike during takeoff and return to make an emergency landing at Phoenix:

... the airplane struck a flock of birds causing damage to the right hand side of the aircraft and pressurization problems. The crew declared emergency and returned to Phoenix, where the airplane landed safely ... 20 minutes after departure....
The birds penetrated the airplane's skin just above and aft of the first officer's eyebrow window causing a hole of about the eyebrow window's size.

Sources:

Incident: Delta Airlines MD90 at Phoenix on Nov 2nd 2009, bird strike

Bird-strike for Delta Airlines airplane in the USA

SLC-bound plane forced to land in Phoenix after bird strike

Plane makes emergency landing at Sky Harbor after hitting bird

Utah-bound Delta flight lands safely in Phoenix after bird strike

Bird strike damages plane during SLC flight; all passengers safe

Delta Flight Returns to Phoenix After Bird Strike

Delta flight returns to Phoenix after bird strike

Northwest Airlines 757-300 Strikes Pigeons

A Northwest Airlines 757-300 flying from Minneapolis to Las Vegas (NW 195) on October 31 struck about 15 pigeons during takeoff and returned immediately to the airport.

Source: Incident: Northwest B753 at Minneapolis on Oct 31st 2009, flock of birds

Gay Couple Threatens to Sue

A gay couple, one of whom is a SkyWest baggage handler, is threatening to sue for not be provided the same benefits as married employees:

Caldwell, 56, who has worked for SkyWest in Palm Springs since September 2004, married David Farrell, 72, his partner of 34 years, in June 2008. They had been registered domestic partners since 2002.

A SkyWest spokeswoman did not return phone messages about the case. But Caldwell's attorney, Tara Borelli of the gay-rights organization Lambda Legal, said the company's position for the last year was that Delta Air Lines, its partner in regional flights in the West, insisted on denying equal benefits to same-sex couples.

Borelli said SkyWest's explanation is hard to believe because Delta has a policy of treating its own gay and lesbian employees equally.

Sources:

SkyWest accused of bias against gay couples

SkyWest Accused of Discriminating Against Gay Couples

Shrinking some more ....

Delta Air Lines is ending service between Atlanta and two cities in Ireland: Shannon and Dublin.

Source: Routes slashed as airlines scale back their winter timetables

Latest on Wayward Pilots

The FAA revoked the pilots' licenses. Now Delta & ALPA are upset.

Sources:

Delta pilots union calls NTSB remarks ‘irresponsible’

Delta pilots union assails NTSB handling of incident

ALPA fumes over Northwest pilots' punishment

FAA revokes licenses of Northwest pilots

Northwest Pilots Explain Reasons for Overflight

Plane Answers: A closer look at technology in the Northwest overflight

Delta Chief Vows To Deal With (Fire) Wrong-Way Pilots

Delta CEO: 'Clear violation' involved in wayward flight

Northwest pilots prompt look at distracted flying

For Northwest pilots, something doesn't compute

Delta pilots say U.S. 'irresponsible' in jet inquiry

Delta To Deal With Northwest Airlines Pilots

Delta to Deal ‘Accordingly’ With Pilots, Chief Says (Update4)

More Fees, More Losses

Industry observers appear to be concluding that the airlines that charge the most fees keep losing more and more money as they drive their customers away. The latest from Jaunted:

... the airlines who lost the most money last quarter were those with most fees. Topping the list of the losers is United with a 21% drop. They changed their checked bag fee policies a few times last year, finally ending with $15 for your first checked bag and $25 for your second. Other losers include Continental and Delta and American, who each dropped between 18.8 and 15% of revenue and have the same baggage fee structure as United. Reasons for the drop in revenue run the gamut of the usual airline excuses, but our guess is that higher fees are driving travelers to book away from these airlines and onto ones with fewer or lower fees. For instance, flying Jetblue versus United to United's home base of Chicago saves you a first checked bag fee, not to mention some dough with the original ticket price.

Source: Baggage Fees Don't Pay For Airlines Who Bleed Money Anyway

Crew Member Injured by Turbulence on Delta Air Lines 767-400

One crew member was injured when a Delta Air Lines 767-400 (DL 21) flying from Paris (CDG) to Atlanta on October 27 encountered turbulence near Atlanta: "The FAA reported the crew member sustained unknown injuries."

Source: Accident: Delta Airlines B764 near Atlanta on Oct 27th 2009, turbulence injures one

CRJ-900 Cabin Losses Pressure

A Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 (DL 4440) flying from Salt Lake City to Houston on October 28 diverted to Grand Junction, CO, after losing cabin pressure at 35,000 feet:

... the cabin pressure dropped causing the oxygen masks to deploy and prompting the crew to initiate an emergency descent to 10000 feet. The crew set course to return to Salt Lake City but decided about 15 minutes later to divert to Grand Junction, where the airplane landed safely about 80 minutes after departure from Salt Lake City and about 50 minutes after the loss of cabin pressure.

Source: Incident: Skywest CRJ9 near Grand Junction on Oct 28th 2009, loss of cabin pressure

Delta Sacks Another Female Executive

The glass ceiling continues to expand at Delta HQ as Delta rids itself of Tammy Lee Stanoch, VP for corporate affairs:

Stanoch had been VP, corporate communications at Northwest, but moved into the government affairs role for Delta once the two companies merged. She had previously overseen all internal and external communications for Northwest. In November 2008, though, Ned Walker was hired as the senior communicator of the merged company—in the role of SVP & chief communications officer—following a 21-year career with Continental Airlines.

Source: Delta eliminates comms post following NWA merger

A previous blog post dealt with the dismissal of 5 execs, 4 of whom were women:

Delta Air Lines Sacks Five Northwest Executives

At this point our running count is 6 execs: 5 female, 1 male.

Wayward Pilots Latest Excuse: Laptops

Now they claim they were distracted by their personal laptops in the cockpit.

Sources:

Lost pilots were on laptops

Pilots using laptops while plane flew past destination

Pilots Who Missed Airport Were On Laptops

New safety worry: Laptops, devices in the cockpit

New safety worry: Laptops, devices in the cockpit

Wayward pilots sat they were busy using laptops

Northwest Airlines pilots tell NTSB that laptops distracted them

Northwest Pilots Using PCs in Cockpit

NTSB: Northwest pilots were using personal laptops

Wayward pilots say they were busy using laptops

Wayward pilots blame distraction on laptops

NTSB: Pilots Of Wayward Jet Were Using Laptops

NTSB: Pilots were using personal laptops

'Overflew' pilots say were distracted by conversation on scheduling system

Northwest Pilots Shot Down by Laptops of Love

Former Pilot: Flight 188 Explanation 'Plausible'

Northwest pilots' 'distraction' blamed in airport overshoot

Northwest pilot says crew of Flight 188 wasn't sleeping

Laptops cause Northwest pilots to miss airport

Laptops Cited for Pilot Inattention

Pilots 'using laptops' overshot airport

Deliberate review...Pilots jobs at risk...Public option proposal

Officials questioning wayward flight

Northwest pilots who overshot airport were distracted by laptops

UPDATE 1-Pilots on wayward US jetliner using laptops-gov't

Wayward pilots could lose jobs

Off-Course Pilots Cite Computer Distraction

Report: Pilots Were Distracted by Laptops, Discussion in Cockpit

Northwest Airlines Pilots Could Lose Jobs

Pilots caught computing while flying

Working on their laptops, wayward pilots say

Pilots who flew 150 miles past airport were using laptops

Northwest Flight 188 Pilots Distracted by Laptops, Will Lose Their Jobs

NTSB: NWA flight 188 pilots using laptops, talking scheduling when they overflew destination

Pilots Tell Investigators They Were On Laptops When They Passed Airport

Lost Northwest 188 Pilots Were Probably Dicking Around on Their Laptops

Northwest pilots were using personal laptops, NTSB says

Northwest jet flies 240 kilometres past U.S. destination

Delta vows cooperation in probe of errant flight

NTSB to Answer Questions About Wayward NWA Flight

Delta Air Lines Issues Statement on Northwest Flight 188 Investigation

NTSB: Wayward pilots were working on laptops

Northwest Pilots Were on Laptops While Over-Flying Minneapolis

NTSB: Pilots were in ‘concentrated’ discussion, using laptops

Delta Air Lines CRJ-100 Loses Cabin Pressure

A Delta Air Lines CRJ-100 operated by Comair and flying from Cincinnati to Calgary lost cabin pressure at an altitude of 36,000 feet due to a cracked windshield on Oct. 21:

... when the crew reported a cracked windshield and loss of cabin pressure and executed an emergency descent to 10000 feet. The airplane continued to Calgary, where the airplane landed safely an hour later.

Source: Incident: Comair CRJ1 near Calgary on Oct 21st 2009, cracked windshield and loss of cabin pressure

Electrical Problems Divert 767 to Stockholm

A Delta Air Lines 767-300 (DL-31) flying from Moscow to New York diverted to Stockholm due to electrical problems on Oct. 19.

Source: Incident: Delta Airlines B763 near Stockholm on Oct 19th 2009, electrical problems

Still Shrinking -- More Flights Cut at Cincinnati

Delta is reducing its current flight schedule at Cincinnati (CVG) by another 10%:

Once the cuts are made in January, the Cincinnati hub will have its fewest number of Delta flights in at least 15 years.The cuts will leave 190 daily Delta departures at the Cincinnati airport. The airline already cut 13 percent of its flights in Cincinnati in early September, leaving local flying and passenger counts down by more than half in the past three years

Sources:

Delta Cuts More Flights At Cincinnati Hub

Delta to Cut Another 10 Percent of Flights

The Mouse that Roared (and Grounded Delta)

A Delta Air Lines plane that was to fly from New York to London Heathrow was grounded for fumigating after a mouse was spotted in the plane:

The aircraft's captain, in what Delta described as "standard procedure", refused the fly the aircraft given the possibility that the mouse may have gnawed its way through wires on the aircraft that were critical to the flight.

Source: Mouse grounds Delta flight from New York to London

So how do they know they got the mouse or mice? Sniff test in a few days?

Nose Gear Problem on Delta Air Lines MD-88

A Delta Air Lines MD-88 (DL 1500) flying from Albuquerque, NM, to Atlanta returned to Albuquerque due to a "gear warning indication" on Oct. 23:

The airplane entered a holding pattern to burn off fuel, landed safely on runway 08 with emergency services on stand by about 50 minutes after departure and vacated the runway.

Sources:

Incident: Delta Airlines MD88 near Albuquerque on Oct 23rd 2009, gear problem

Delta flight from New Mexico makes emergency landing

Hydraulics Problems on Northwest Airlines 757-200

A Northwest Airlines 757-200 (NW 590) flying from Portland to Minneapolis diverted to Billings, MT, on October 17 due to hydraulics problems:

The airplane landed safely on runway 28R following a 15nm final about 35 minutes later, however blew a left main gear tyre during the roll out and needed to be towed to the apron.

Source: Incident: Northwest B752 near Billings on Oct 17th 2009, hydraulics problem

Engine Failure on Delta Air Lines MD-88

A Delta Air Lines MD-88 (DL 1790) flying from San Antonio, TX, to Atlanta on Oct. 13 suffered an engine failure during takeoff and returned immediately to San Antonio.

Source: Incident: Delta Airlines MD88 at San Antonio on Oct 13th 2009, engine failure

Bird Cause Engine Failure on Delta Air Lines MD-88

A Delta Air Lines MD-88 (DL 1907) flying from Rochester, NY, to Atlanta on October 11 suffered an engine failure after encountering a flock of birds during takeoff.

... the crew declared emergency reporting they had an engine failure and requested an immediate return. The airplane landed safely on runway 22 12 minutes after departure and taxied off the runway.... The FAA reported substantial damage including damage to the left hand engine and rated the occurrence an accident.

Source: Accident: Delta Airlines MD88 at Rochester on Oct 11th 2009, flock of birds

Lightening Strikes Damage Two Delta Air Lines Planes on Approach to Salt Lake City

Two Delta Air Lines planes approaching Salt Lake City were damanged by lightening strikes on October 4:

• DL 1491, an MD-90 flying from Portland, suffered "minor damage to a seam along the fuselage"
• NW 1170, an A320 flying from Minnenapolis, suffered "minor damage to the elevator"

Both planes landed safely.

Sources:

Incident: Delta Airlines MD90 at Salt Lake City on Oct 4th 2009, lightning strike

Incident: Northwest A320 near Salt Lake City on Oct 4th 2009, lightning strike