But everyone, with a few minor exceptions, is wearing a mask at the airport. And since masks are so effective the risk should be minimal right? Plus airports are generally somewhat spacious and have constant airflow which helps mitigate spread. Let’s be honest, when you consider the risk of getting COVID, and then the risk of getting seriously sick or dying from COVID, driving to and from the airport most likely remains the most dangerous part of your journey.

(Written on 17-10-2020)(Permalink)

Well, that is quite ironic. If you believe death from covid is lurking around every corner you really shouldn't be going anywhere. Though I must point out a large percentage of infections are occurring within families in their homes, and also in people who claim they "always" wear a mask.

(Written on 16-10-2020)(Permalink)

That's all well and good, but doesn't amount to much when 1) a lot of states/locales are still largely locked down and/or have quarantine restrictions, and 2) people are still afraid to go outside because of media/political induced fear. When the good Dr Fauci says even close families should avoid gathering for the holidays it just feeds into the narrative that death is lurking around every corner.

(Written on 15-10-2020)(Permalink)

The CEO's salary may be zero, but he's still getting millions in stock options. Also pilots, and FA's have already taken a de facto pay cut in that a lot of people increase their pay through trading and open time and that is basically non existent right now. To top it off, over 2000 pilots took either early retirement or extended leave at greatly reduced pay in order to mitigate layoffs. And the 10% cut will apply to those pilots who took leave. It's a slap in the face that after all this, almost 8 months into the "pandemic", all of a sudden they need concessions ASAP to prevent layoffs. Oh, and SWA currently has over 14 BILLION in cash/credit available which even at current burn rates is enough to last at least the next 2 years.

(Written on 10-10-2020)(Permalink)

It's just another fear mongering click bait article designed to get people riled up, in order to justify even more government intrusion in the name of "safety". Regardless of political faction the government's primary mission is always to ensure its own sustainability. It will keep reaching and reaching until someone (the people) puts a stop to it.

(Written on 05-10-2020)(Permalink)

There was recently an "incident" where a 737-500 crew had problems with instrument flight and declared an emergency after their autopilot(s) failed. That's it, just the A/P, everything else was working fine. Yes Boeing and the FAA obviously made mistakes, but you can't idiot proof a commercial airplane, you still need a qualified and competent crew as a last line of defense. https://www.flightglobal.com/safety/experienced-crew-struggled-with-instrument-flight-after-737-lost-autopilots/140072.article

(Written on 01-10-2020)(Permalink)

Meanwhile, airlines in the USA are changing to "shut up you assholes!"

(Written on 30-09-2020)(Permalink)

They're playing up the worst-case scenario for some reason. The MCAS upgrades, plus the upcoming procedure change to make runaway trim a memory item, will make this condition virtually impossible. Virtually. And if it somehow does come down to needing both pilots on the controls the last thing you worry about is the damn QRH. Aviate Navigate Communicate. You can't design every possible failure scenario out of an airplane, at least not one that has any chance of getting off the ground.

(Written on 28-09-2020)(Permalink)

IF that's true I call B.S. It wasn't exactly a state secret that Boeing was using the -7 for the testing, so if anyone had a problem with it they should've spoken up sooner. And don't quote me but I believe it's only the -8 that requires MCAS, the longer body -9 and -10 don't have the same control force issue.

(Written on 22-09-2020)(Permalink)

This was an older CVR that only recorded for 30 minutes, so it only caught the last portion of the flight right before it crashed. So my guess is the FDR didn't rec many parameters such as switch positions. Obviously I can't speak for Helios in 2005, but our Before Start Checklist includes checking the press switch is set correctly (it may not be AUTO if there is an MEL item). Even in this day and age it is common for the pilot responding to the checklist challenge to state the correct response without actually looking at the item in question. It was hammered into us pretty hard in initial training that when running a checklist the person reading needs to verify the response as well, not just the person responding.

(Written on 21-09-2020)(Permalink)