Air Canada plan lands safely after reporting fire

[CanadaEH]

Air Canada plane lands safely after reporting fire

Associated Press

Hong Kong — A Vancouver-bound Air Canada flight that reported an in-flight fire returned safely to Hong Kong's airport on Sunday about 40 minutes after takeoff, officials said.

The reported fire turned out to be a short-circuited cabin light that emitted smoke but didn't catch fire, and there were no injuries, Airport Authority Hong Kong spokeswoman Jo Ngai said.

She identified the flight as AC008 bound for Vancouver. She said the plane, an Airbus A343, was carrying 231 passengers and 16 crew members.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor..._30/?hub=Canada

[Financial Guy]

A Vancouver-bound Air Canada flight that reported an in-flight fire returned safely to Hong Kong's airport on Sunday about 40 minutes after takeoff, officials said.

Kudos to the crew on a job well done. No doubt a "minor" incident, but a good job nonetheless.

See, YYC I/C, not exactly overpaid in the minds of 200+ people at this point in time.....

[Fido]

Handling an incident that MAY have been catastrophic is not a determination of worth or compensation, otherwise a baggage handler who takes a fire extinguisher into a cargo hold and saves an airplane loaded with passengers from burning should get 200k a year also.

Worth comes from how a particular job contributes to the over all well being of a company and the contribution that the position makes to success.

The argument in favour of paying pilots a lot of money should come from the position that having good, experienced, competent pilots makes the traveling public feel safe and they will buy more tickets. The public will accept if an airline has a number of useless, untrained malcontents as baggage handlers or checkin agents (to a point) and they will accept totally unqualified flight attendants as long as they are treated nicely as a passenger (e.g. the preference for china dolls on Asian carriers), but if the word gets around that a companies pilots can't handle the job!!!!!

[MAYDAY]

Fido,

Although I agree with your remarks, I see it a little differently. I think worth comes from what it takes (experience/education) to achieve a position. In order to be an airline pilot one typically has an average of 10 years of flying experience and an Airline Transport Licence. If you don't have the proper experience or qualifications then you can not do the job period. The same could be said for senior maintenance engineers. When looking at several other jobs within an airline however, it is obvious that many of them don't require any special experience or qualification...

[cp fa]

Handling an incident that MAY have been catastrophic is not a determination of worth or compensation, otherwise a baggage handler who takes a fire extinguisher into a cargo hold and saves an airplane loaded with passengers from burning should get 200k a year also.

Big difference between extinguishing a fire on the ground, and extinguishing a fire in flight, while trying to land the aircraft safely.

[Fido]

Yup a big difference:

On the ground the individual has the option of running the other way. In the air it is a degree of self preservation. In both cases it is the value of saving human life.

[YYC I/C]

Again, I believe pilots get paid, or should get paid what the market allows. We have great pilots at Air Canada. Just not a great time to be a commercial pilot in North America. JMHO.

And in terms of the incident, I don't believe there was a fire onboard. Just smoke from a reading light. I realize that both the front and back ends had to treat the situation as such, bit I'm continually bewildered as to how our media portrays issues as they relate to Air Canada.

[UpperDeck]

There was a comment earlier (days ago!) about pay scales for new aircraft. There was an assumption that ACPA would demand an increased allowance for increased pax load. In response to an "objection" by an FA poster, the question was asked; "Wouldn't you expect more pay for more passengers served?"

The answer should have been (and I believe was) an unequivocal "no".

The technical skills required remain basically the same throughout the spectrum. Hence the repeated assertions that one should be paid based upon seniority and not upon equipment.

The IC working a wide-body is paid more than a domestic IC but once beyond that difference, the equipment and loads become irrelevant.

And...you do the job you are paid to do. Once in a rare while, that includes expending every effort to put out a fire.

[Flightlevels]

Is there any truth to the fueling incident with the Air Canada aircraft going to south america running out of fuel. I noticed the TSB has removed public access? Someone said it was along the lines of the gimli glider incident.

[J.O.]

I noticed the TSB has removed public access?

I assume you are referring to the CADORs system. Actually, there never was "public" access to them. Persons in the industry could gain access to them, providing that they signed a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement in exchange for a password into the CADORs website. Unfortunately, somone sent a copy of the CADORs report of the Jetsgo Calgary incident to the media, and it was published in a national newspaper the next day. Access was cut off almost immediately.

[dagger]

I couldn't help laugh at the juxtaposition of your message with the previous one from the Rumor Mongrol who posted just above you. "Unfortunately, someone sent a copy of the CADORS... to the media...." Some airline's people are better than others at spreading rumors. Some are better than others at spying on competitors. Some run rumor mongering campaigns to run competitors out of business...

[dagger]

Is there any truth to the fueling incident with the Air Canada aircraft going to south america running out of fuel. I noticed the TSB has removed public access? Someone said it was along the lines of the gimli glider incident.

Yes, it glided all the way from Havana to Buenos Aires, part of a new secret strategy by Air Canada to save hundreds of millions a year on fuel which it will then use to run Westjet out of business. Or at least rumor has it.

[CanadaEH]

I couldn't help laugh at the juxtaposition of your message with the previous one from the Rumor Mongrol who posted just above you. "Unfortunately, someone sent a copy of the CADORS... to the media...." Some airline's people are better than others at spreading rumors. Some are better than others at spying on competitors. Some run rumor mongering campaigns to run competitors out of business...

And the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper.

[dagger]

And the hole keeps getting deeper and deeper.

If you mean the ethical hole you're standing in, right on!

[E-HANDLE]

I couldn't help laugh at the juxtaposition of your message with the previous one from the Rumor Mongrol who posted just above you. "Unfortunately, someone sent a copy of the CADORS... to the media...." Some airline's people are better than others at spreading rumors. Some are better than others at spying on competitors. Some run rumor mongering campaigns to run competitors out of business...

Wow, sounds like quite an airline!

Since you obviously have the skinny, the facts, the real slim shady as it were, you have no doubt gone straight to authorities with these misdeeds.

You have, haven't you?

[Maverick]

Wow, sounds like quite an airline!

Since you obviously have the skinny, the facts, the real slim shady as it were, you have no doubt gone straight to authorities with these misdeeds.

You have, haven't you?

Now,now! When an airline has been convicted in the high court of the AEF (the right honourable m. poignard residing) there are no appeals, no plea bargains, no parole and most importantly, no disputing the aboves noted verdict.

GUILTY!!

[Flightlevels]

If you mean the ethical hole you're standing in, right on!

thanks for the pm people, guess it was true but glad to see some safeguards put in place. You are wrong dagger,sry. Thanks JO you are correct on the reports, I thought it was open to the public.

[Mitch Cronin]

OK... with that, people may be misled... so, lest anyone get any wrong ideas... No. none of our airplanes has ever run out of gas since Gimli. The event Flightlevels was wondering about (and which I won't talk details of, for obvious reasons) was not as serious, and did not have the airplane running out of fuel.. . ...But then, if he knew that, why did he say "guess it was true"?

[Sky High]

Amazing how a thread that started with a report of problem on a flight deteriorated into a mud slinging contest.