Witness to challenge flight attendant's story

[babylonsister]

Ruh roh.

Witness to challenge flight attendant's story

By JOAN LOWY


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Passengers on the plane that ditched into the Hudson River in January have told a federal safety panel that it was a flight attendant - not a panicked passenger - who opened a rear door on the aircraft, sending water rushing into the cabin.

The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled three days of hearings next week on safety issues arising from the forced landing of US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson between New York and New Jersey on Jan. 15. The first two witnesses are the flight's captain, Chesley Sullenberger, and passenger Billy Campbell, who was seated in the second-to-last row of the Airbus A320.

Board member Robert Sumwalt, who will chair the hearing, said that Campbell has told NTSB investigators that it was flight attendant Doreen Welsh who cracked open the door, not a passenger.

Following the ditching, Welsh said in media interviews and testimony before Congress that a passenger pushed past her to open the door.

"That's what we want to straighten out. We want to get his testimony on that, was it a passenger or a flight attendant?" Sumwalt said in an interview.

Several passengers interviewed by investigators have given similar accounts, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PLANE_SPLASHDOWN_DOOR?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[SoCalNative]

1. Ruh roh is right

:popcorn:

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Nothing gets past the NTSB.

Nothing.

[RC]

3. Except maybe small planes carrying Democratic politicians.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. and the 4 black boxes on 9-11.

NONE of which were found.

[TorchTheWitch]

6. only the WTC ones weren't found

The ones from the Pentagon attack (Flight 77) and Flight 93 that crashed in PA were. Rumsfeld claimed the one from Flight 77 was too damaged to provide any information and there's a transcript of the one from Flight 93 that was finally released. From what I recall from the Flight 93 case, only the family members of the victims of that flight were permitted to actually hear the audio.

[bevoette]

5. oh wow - i remember Ms. Welsh...

in several interviews with the crew immediately afterward - slightly older woman, blond...?

while the other flight attendants and the captain came off grateful and happy at their survival, she seemed to me to be almost...seething, very angry. i remember thinking "wow - what's her problem??"

i remember one interview distinctly, her interrupting other flight attendants who were talking about trying to maintain order and keeping the passengers calm while they evacuated, and she said something like "you have no idea, the back of the plane, it wasn't like that at all, it was a madhouse" and the whole time she just seemed really ANGRY...which i thought was weird b/c, um, HELLO, the man that SAVED YOUR LIFE is right there...

anyway, i never knew there was an issue about the back door being opened, but that might explain her hostility. :shrug:

[TorchTheWitch]

8. I thought the same thing

There was something odd indeed about her attitude. I also recall in at least one of the first interviews immediately afterward with one or more passengers that it was a flight attendant that opened the door. It wasn't until later in the sit-down interviews that I first heard that it was a passenger that opened the door... and it may have been Ms. Welsh's interview.

I tend to think it was indeed Ms. Welsh that opened the door mostly considering that it was said by one or more passengers as they were interviewed stepping out of the life boats that it was a flight attendant who did it... I'm thinking Ms. Welsh is trying to cover a mistake or what she may perceive as a mistake by blaming someone else.

I did notice her angry attitude and it struck me the same as you. I just couldn't imagine what she seemed to be so pissed about.

[DemoTex]

10. PTSD

In spades. Back off unless you have ever experienced an aircraft crash.

[happyslug]

13. I would be angry to if I told a passenger NOT to open a door and he or she did anyway

And then I tried to close it and could not. What she has said in the past seems to indicate she was guarding the rear door and a female passenger demanded to get out the door she was directly people from and then that passenger pushed past her and opened the door, leaving in all the water. This made her job of getting the other passengers out harder and given where she was it was her job to be the last person out of her area, thus she probably suffered to most contact with the water.

[DemoTex]

7. When I refer to my "bud" on the NTSB, as I just did in another thread ..

.. it is Robert Sumwalt. He and I were Piedmont pilots before the buy-out by USAir. Robert worked for me at one of the major aviation magazines when I was the editor there. He is a very good aviation writer. I'm glad Robert is on the NTSB.

Sumwalt's appointment by Bu$h was one of the few Bu$h decisions I fully support. Now it's President Obama's turn. May I suggest one "DemoTex" for the NTSB Mr. President?

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Oh, man. That shits.

The episode was full of good stories and admirable people all acting in ways that exceeded ecpectations.

But now this.

I'd rather I didn't know.

[happyslug]

11. Given the situation, I have to go with the Flight Attendant story

From the article
"Well, I got out of my jump seat and went back and looked out the porthole and saw water. And, wow, then I turned around to start guiding the people away, just then a passenger knocked me over and went and just wildly, I mean, she was just frantic and said, 'Open the door, open the door,' and she cracked the door. I had to take her and get her away, but she had put it up just enough that it broke the seal and that water came gushing in."

Notice she said she went to the door to guide the passengers to another exit, then a passenger pushed passed her and opened the door. I can see the other passenger seeing the Flight Attendant neat the door and assumed she opened it. Furthermore, I can see people NOW believing that is what happened and report it as such. People will see what they want to see, and most times that is a member of the crew opening a door NOT another passenger. The two women were probably close and the other passengers in a state of shock and moving forward. Then the passenger passed back and opened the door and people heard the water coming in and the Flight Attendant trying to close the door and assumed she opened it (and now believe they saw her open it). This is a problem with eye wittinesses, they often state NOT what they saw, but what they wanted to see, and that is what I think happened here. The flight attendant's story, given right after the crash, is to neat for her to make up that day unless it is how the Attendant saw it. I put more faith in the Flight Attendant simply because she was in the area and admit to directing people elsewhere, thus she appears to have retained her wits and was acting what she believe to be the best course of action.

As to the Captain, who will be the first to testify, I expect nothing, she was in the Cockpit to see what was happening at the rear of the plane. As to the second witness to be called passenger, Billy Campbell, we will hear a lot for he was in the last seat of the plane and thus in the best position to see anything. The article says "Passengers report" the flight attendant opened the door, but does NOT say what Passenger Billy Campbell reported he saw.

[Hannah Bell]

12. i tend to Agree with you.