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I'm flying Southwest later this month. Being in the UK, I'm geoblocked from this article. Should I be worried?
by afandian 7y ago
I'm flying Southwest later this month. Being in the UK, I'm geoblocked from this article. Should I be worried?
- chopin 7y ago>The report found that Southwest “operates its fleet of aircraft with frequent weight and balance errors.” Such incorrect information was “frequently” communicated to pilots, which can “greatly affect” a plane’s safety and performance, the report said. >The report also found that Southwest “operates previously owned airplanes in unknown states of airworthiness.” Take your conclusions.
- WillPostForFood 7y agoBut later in the article, it says: “While weight and balance control is critical for the safety of flight operations, the issues at [Southwest] rarely involved a baggage miscount that significantly affected aircraft loading,” the FAA said in its response.
- jmpman 7y agoOne fatality in 50 years. I sleep on every flight.
- throwaway55554 7y agoI go back to, it's not the quantity, it's the quality. How long does it take to fall 7 miles vs, say, a car collision?
- AWildC182 7y agoYou won't be conscious if you're falling 7 miles[1]. Most accidents are at takeoff and landing so at worst you'll fall between 1 and 4 miles while conscious but most likely on the lower end of that scale. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_useful_consciousness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_useful_consciousness
- esoterica 7y agoHow long does it to take to bleed out when you die in a car crash? How long does it take to burn to death when you are trapped in a fiery wreck?
- kayfox 7y agoThe two main complaints are: 1. Inaccurate weight and balance calculations (seems to be passenger seating since its reported to not be baggage weight and balance). 2. 88 aircraft with non-conforming repairs, the airline has since replaced the repairs with conforming repairs. I'm not surprised on the first issue, since Southwest has to perform the weight and balance checking in a matter of minutes between all the passengers getting on board and pushback, because of the open seating. The FAA will be implementing more stringent oversight between now and September 30th.
- dave5104 7y ago> Southwest has to perform the weight and balance checking in a matter of minutes between all the passengers getting on board and pushback, because of the open seating. Why wouldn't this be an issue for other airlines as well? United doesn't ask for a passenger's weight in advance to pre-calculate based on their assigned seat.
- hjkgfdfgh 7y agoPassengers are (for the most part) considered equal for W&B calculations. It's about "Is this seat occupied?"
- Cshelton 7y agoFor most flights, it is fine, since most SW flights are full or close to it. It is for the flights that happen at off times to less popular destinations where you may have a half empty plane with most people toward the front, to one side (to see a view maybe), etc.
- ranrotx 7y agoI’ve been on Southwest flights so sparsely full (maybe 40 people on a plane with capacity for 120) where the flight attendants have to repeatedly tell people to “spread out for weight and balance.” That’s about as scientific as their calculation got.
- dylan604 7y ago
- rconti 7y agoNo. I don't like Southwest, but they're one of the absolute safest airlines in the country. The issues mentioned in the article could indicate they're being increasingly non-responsive to the FAA, but, no. I wouldn't hesitate to fly them.
- neonate 7y agohttps://archive.md/SNyR4 https://archive.md/SNyR4
- Rebelgecko 7y agoMile for mile, it's still significantly safer than driving the same distance.
- akira2501 7y agoTrip for trip, it isn't. Taking a few long distance trips in an airline is very safe, taking many short distance trips isn't.