American Airlines Accidentally Flew The Wrong Plane From L.A. To Hawaii

[Agschmid]

The plane was not certified to fly long distances over water.

[center][/center]

American Airlines accidentally flew the wrong plane from Los Angeles to Hawaii in late August, violating Federal Aviation Administration regulations that require long flights over water to have special certification.

An airline spokesman confirmed on Sunday that the mistake happened to BuzzFeed News, when it flew an Airbus A321s to Hawaii. The incident occurred on Aug. 31 and was first reported by aviation blogger Brian Sumers on Friday.

“The flight departed and landed safely without incident,” American Airlines spokesman Casey Norton said to BuzzFeed News. “When we realized what happened, we immediately called the FAA and notified them.”

Flights over large bodies of water that have no suitable alternative landing locations are required by the FAA to have a certification called ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards), but American Airlines’ flight in August did not.

Whoops...

[MADem]

1. One way to get a long layover.... nt

[hunter]

2. Oops. The odds were good nothing bad would happen...

... but bad accidents usually result from a chain of mistakes, or worse negligence.

I worked in a blood bank. Similar standards of safety apply in that work. Every error, even the slightest, was thoroughly investigated and documented, no matter the blood in question never left the building and no harm was done.

This is bad. Either multiple people involved didn't notice the error, or they were pressured in some way not to notice.

In this modern U.S.A. where short term corporate profits are the "meaning of life," I have a strong suspicion it's the later.

[Omaha Steve]

3. Maybe a sign in the plane that says no flights over large bodies of water would help

Geez.

[Agschmid]

5. Well technically the plane can do it no problem...

Just missing some equipment that's all, still a bit odd.

[CTyankee]

8. well, there's gotta be a reason for not certifying it to fly over large bodies of

water. Do you know what they were?

[GummyBearz]

10. Given who we are dealing with

I'd guess the main reason is a ton of bureaucratic red tape from 2 giant corps + 1 government entity that can barely grapple with how to regulate super charged RC helicopters.

[CreekDog]

13. You're blaming the government for this? You're on the wrong board

But we knew that when you made fun of Serena Willams last week.

[GummyBearz]

17. Read better

I blamed 2 giant corps and the FAA... yes, the agency that doesn't know what to do about RC copters. Are all agencies off limits? Can I have a problem with the TSA? geez, get a grip

[davidn3600]

11. Extra safety equipment

I think the plane needs extra oxygen tanks and fire extinguishers that don't normally come on an A321S.

There is a alternate model Airbus makes called the A321H which is essentially the same plane but has the extra safety gear to satisfy requirements for overseas flights. American Airlines probably got the planes mixed up somehow and flew the wrong one.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. Also, the plane's track record for safety (new models) and ......

.... how long the aircraft is tested/certified for one engine flight.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. If I'm not mistaken, there is a placard in the cockpit saying....

.... this plane is certified for over water flights.

I'm not sure if the placard deals directly with ETOPs or not.


Edit. This is from an FSX simulator :

[tblue37]

4. A bit scary. nt

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. The plane in the picture is an A319

I'm surprised the dispatch system would have allowed the non-ETOPS tail to be assigned to the flight.

[rufus dog]

12. That was my thought

They have everything captured, just a simple line of code to prevent human error.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. I suppose they need to add the item to one of the pilot's checklist .

If it's not already there.

[Spirochete]

7. From the headline

I had visions of a whole planeload of passengers griping "This doesn't look like Philadelphia! WTF?"

[CTyankee]

9. I'm recalling the New Yorker cartoon of the little old lady standing at the OTB

window at Grand Central Station saying "Whaddya mean this isn't the train to Stamford?"