How much turbulence can an airplane handle before you're in...uh...."trouble"?

[Tom Earp]

Used to fly every other week for five years and never bothered me to much. Always took a book to read and had drink order ready for quick service!

Had a lot of strange things happen in 5 years!

Going to St. Louis, ended up in Wash. DC. Changed flights in NY to KC, my other plane was shyjacked with a good freind on it. Struck by lightning from DC to KC. Had to depalne in Omaha and wait for the next flight, battery overheated, In Memphis, to baggage handlers were jacking around and got locked in the hold. Had to tell the attendent about it and would not beleive me at first.

Have an Attendent with NW who on last flight said there were 11 armed Feds from different agencies on it and scared the hell out of her. With that many morons, hell I would be scared too!

[justamom]

Originally posted by mmcat
the question is...would you get involved if something went wrong on a flight? i think after 9-11 a lot of folks are now thinking they would. over the holidays i had occasion to fly and chatted with a couple of flight attendants -- and they certainly said they would be more aggressive if someone tried to take over the plane. i admitted that i would too.

I'd do everything I could-or at least I THINK I would. Can't know
how I'd react-I could totally freak!


AlphaSigOU , How do you feel about pilots having guns? I think they should-I also think the doors should be as strong as possible.

What also worries me is the maintenance-WHO and WHEN.
How well are they screened? Does every single person really take care with their job...with the work ethic we see so much of these days? Scared silly about this.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by justamom
I'd do everything I could-or at least I THINK I would. Can't know
how I'd react-I could totally freak!


AlphaSigOU , How do you feel about pilots having guns? I think they should-I also think the doors should be as strong as possible.

What also worries me is the maintenance-WHO and WHEN.
How well are they screened? Does every single person really take care with their job...with the work ethic we see so much of these days? Scared silly about this.

If they're properly trained, let the flight crew pack heat. All US-registered aircraft now have armored flight deck doors, as well as any international airline flying to the US.

Anyone in aircraft maintenance (except the baggage handlers and ramp service personnel) must be federally licensed as an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic. Anyone working inside a SIDA (Special Identification Display Area), which covers the airplane ramp area and other restricted areas beyond the checkpoints must submit to a 10-year criminal background check before getting badged.

They're constantly reminded to challenge anyone on the ramp who does not visibly display ID or is not familiar to them. Most are quite conscientious and take care with their jobs; the few that fall through the cracks nowadays are quickly found out and booted off the ramp and out of a job.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by justamom
AlphaSigOU , How do you feel about pilots having guns?

Are the windows reinforced (i.e. bulletproof)?
What if a wayward bullet hits the windows? Will the windows be blown out? If so, than say goodbye to the whole airplane....

I also think that a lot of airlines could save themselves a lot of grief, vis a vis the "air rage" issue if:
a) They went dry (no booze). Now I realize that this will not be popular, but in the long run, I think it would be of more benefit than not. (I have had drunken jack@$$es with air rage on my plane, and you just want to smack 'em.....)
b) They gave out Nicorette gum to crabby smokers who are also bordered on Air Rage.

The end.

[justamom]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
Are the windows reinforced (i.e. bulletproof)?
What if a wayward bullet hits the windows? Will the windows be blown out? If so, than say goodbye to the whole airplane....

I also think that a lot of airlines could save themselves a lot of grief, vis a vis the "air rage" issue if:
a) They went dry (no booze). Now I realize that this will not be popular, but in the long run, I think it would be of more benefit than not. (I have had drunken jack@$$es with air rage on my plane, and you just want to smack 'em.....)
b) They gave out Nicorette gum to crabby smokers who are also bordered on Air Rage.

The end.

I thought I heard they were able to use a different kind of bullet. Maybe a rubber one?

NO BOOZE??? What would poor Delt Alum do?

Nicorette gum!!! Too funny!


EDITED!!!!I FORGOT TO SAY THANK YOU ALPHASIGOU!!! It really does make me feel better about everything!

[AlphaSigOU]

There are special rounds called 'Glaser Safety Slugs' that are only effective at very close (i.e. point-blank range). A single bullet strike would not cause the immediate loss of an airplane; even if one window was blown out it would not be fatal to the structural integrity of the aircraft. However, at 35,000 feet it's -60 degrees Fahrenheit and hardly any oxygen to sustain life; thus it is imperative that a plane suffering from a loss of cabin pressure must drop down to less than 14,000 feet quickly, lest people become incapacitated or die from lack of oxygen.

Selling liquor on board is a moneymaker for the airlines, it's unlikely they will ever stop serving it on board. FAA regulations restrict the consumption of liquor aboard an aircraft to that supplied by the airline, though it's not unusual for passengers to sneak aboard a flask of their private stock. (Get caught, and the least of your worries is the flight crew confiscating the hooch.) Likewise, the flight crew can cut off anyone who appears to be trashed; if they're trashed before they board, they can be denied boarding.

Smoking has been banned on all domestic flights and all international flights flying into or departing the United States; smoke detectors have been installed in lavatories and any attempt to disarm them will send an alert to the cockpit.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
Likewise, the flight crew can cut off anyone who appears to be trashed

Yes, this is all nice and cozy in THEORY, but the reality is, how many flight attendants (who are about 90% women, most of the time) are willing to say "No" and actually cut off the booze supply (and risk getting into a fist fight) with an obnoxious drunk is another story..... I doubt that the token male flight attendant on board really wants to get into the punch throwing fray. (one of my friends was a flight attendant for the now extinct Canada 3000 airlines....ah, the stories that she would share with me, that poor thing. )

FYI: no smoking on Canadian flights (inbound, outbound, domestic, overseas) either.

[aurora_borealis]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
I think this fear comes from the fact that I flew Alaska Airlines about a week after they had that accident on January 31, 2000.
(The aircraft was on a flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to San Francisco, California).

I was waiting for that plane to pick me up in San Francisco to take me back to Fairbanks. One of my friends here at my current school is related to a family that died in the crash. He still has anxiety with flying Alaska Airlines and unfortunately that is the only airline that serves our college town, and the major carrier for most of Alaska (hence being ALASKA Airlines).

I have had the worst flight of my life on a commuter prop plane from Seattle to Portland. I am the girl who eats junkfood and goes on the rides at the amusement park and doesn't puke. I had to sit down on the tarmac in the rain and put my head between my legs because I felt that nauseated. As far as turbulence goes staying buckled up is a smart idea, and if the flight attendants have to take their seats then you anxiety may be warranted. The pilots are well trained, and have great equipment.

Oh and why is it that I got plastic flatware in the airport T.G.I. Friday's, but Alaska Airlines gives out REAL METAL silverware in first class? Seems a little ridiculous.

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
I also think that a lot of airlines could save themselves a lot of grief, vis a vis the "air rage" issue if:
a) They went dry (no booze). Now I realize that this will not be popular, but in the long run, I think it would be of more benefit than not. (I have had drunken jack@$$es with air rage on my plane, and you just want to smack 'em.....)
b) They gave out Nicorette gum to crabby smokers who are also bordered on Air Rage.

The end.

The day that airlines stop serving alcohol in-flight will be the day that I stop flying. Flying scares the heck out of me, and I need two of those Delta Vinum bottles in order to calm down.

[aephi alum]

Flying doesn't bother me at all. I used to fly every week for business. I flew out of La Guardia airport the day after a plane departing LGA crashed (November 2001). That was also my first flight after 9/11. Didn't bother me.

My husband, on the other hand, is a basket case when it comes to flying. He has to take a sleeping pill as soon as he gets on board. If I'm flying, I have to call him on my cell phone the second they open the doors for deboarding, or he reads me the riot act. I literally cannot comprehend what makes him so nervous.

The only problem I have when I fly, is that I am totally unable to sleep. Even on a transpacific flight I took last year - couldn't sleep a wink.