Pilot pleaded to evacuate stranded passengers

[babylonsister]

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

Pilot pleaded to evacuate stranded passengers

By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials said Friday that the airline whose passengers were stranded overnight on a Minnesota airport tarmac wasn't at fault, but they blamed another airline for refusing requests to allow the passengers to enter the airport's terminal.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said an investigation by his department found that the captain of Continental Express Flight 2816 and other officials for ExpressJet, the regional air carrier that operated the flight for Continental Airlines, repeatedly pleaded to allow the passengers to deplane and enter the Rochester terminal.

There were turned down by representatives of Mesaba Airlines, who incorrectly said that the passengers couldn't be allowed inside because Transportation Security Administration personnel had left for the day, LaHood said in a statement. That was incorrect - passengers could have stayed in a separate "sterile" area, he said.

Mesaba was the only airline with staff still at the airport during the incident earlier this month.

The plane left Houston at 9:23 p.m. local time on Aug. 11, but was diverted by thunderstorms to Rochester. Passengers were kept for about six hours waiting inside the cramped plane amid wailing babies and a smelly toilet even though they were only 50 yards from a terminal.

In the morning they were allowed to deplane. They spent about two and a half hours inside the terminal before reboarding the same plane. They arrived in Minneapolis, their destination, after 11 a.m. CDT.

"We have determined that the Express Jet crew was not at fault. In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them," LaHood said.

"There was a complete lack of common sense here," the secretary added. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated."

Mesaba is a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

A spokesman for Mesaba parent Delta Air Lines Inc. did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

[groovedaddy]

1. This, combined with Tom Ridge's "revelations" - don't you think we've carried this fear of terror

thing just a wee bit far?

[MindPilot]

2. Now they know who to sue n/t

[mnhtnbb]

3. When are passengers going to revolt at this type of treatment?

I'm sure they'd have had the cops there to deplane everybody in a NY minute if they'd revolted.
I tell you, I'd rather be arrested to get off the damn plane and sue the airline later .

[Gormy Cuss]

4. I find it had to believe that the "other officials" at Express Jet didn't call TSA directly.

LaHood is right. The lack of common sense in EVERYTHING associated with airport security is why the flying public and those who no longer will fly are angry and frustrated at the process.

[babylonsister]

5. Since the local TSA staff was gone, I'd think Mesaba should have

had the intelligence to call someone locally, since they were based out of there.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. I'd bet the Mesaba staff didn't want the hassle of passengers in the terminal

and someone figured using the TSA excuse was a valid reason.

The Express Jet officials could have called TSA staff at any number of large airports with later overnight flights --those on the west coast for example or in Hawaii.

I wish that I were surprised by the lack of a twenty-four hour TSA hotline, but...

[lpbk2713]

7. "There was a complete lack of common sense here,"

That sums up TSA perfectly. The spawn of the corrupt and evil BushCo administration.

Lack of common sense is what TSA is all about.

[Javaman]

8. Just like the guy who wrote the song about United breaking his guitar

someone needs to pen a song about delta screwing thier passengers.