Guest Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Sun-bound travellers grounded after Westjet plane 'makes contact' with vehicle at YVR Passengers looking forward for some fun in the sun were delayed for hours after a Westjet plane, bound for Palm Springs reversed into a catering truck on the tarmac at YVR Thursday morning Plane taken out of service following incident Cathy Kearney · CBC News · Posted: Jan 03, 2019 3:21 PM PT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago Westjet says pilot error wasn't the issue, because a contracted pushback crew was responsible for reversing the aircraft. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press) Passengers looking forward to some fun in the sun were delayed for hours after a Westjet plane bound for Palm Springs reversed into a catering truck on the tarmac at YVR Thursday morning. "During pushback from its gate, WestJet flight 1722 from Vancouver to Palm Springs made contact with a catering vehicle," said a statement from Morgan Bell, a Westjet media representative. Passengers take to social media Passenger @SunshineSucks took to Twitter, complaining about the flight being cancelled because the pilot drove 'into a truck on the tarmac." Oh my <a href="https://twitter.com/WestJet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WestJet</a> flight got canceled because our pilot wrecked the plane by driving into a truck on the tarmac. On the upside, I’m not in the air on a plane piloted by a pilot so incompetent he totaled a plane by taxiing into a truck. —@SunshineSucks Westjet responded to the tweet saying the aircraft was under the control of its contracted ground crew at the time of the incident. Passengers and crew returned to the gate and were offloaded, while arrangements were being made to secure another plane. Planes clip wings on Vancouver airport tarmac leaving both unable to fly Earlier in the day @mattgolfLAB tweeted he was looking forward to some quality family time and warmth, but an hour later tweeted "Who backs a plane into something at an airport?" Westjet says pilot error wasn't an issue, because a pushback crew and tug were deployed to move the plane in reverse. "We sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused our guests and are working to get them on their way as soon as possible," said the statement. Video 'People grabbed their seats': United flight from Vancouver climbs to miss glider Plane taken out of service A spokesperson for YVR said the plane has been taken out of service. The flight departed at 1:05 pm PT, over three-and-a-half hours after its scheduled time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Twitter quote by some fool on the flight: "flight got canceled because our pilot wrecked the plane by driving into a truck on the tarmac. On the upside, I’m not in the air on a plane piloted by a pilot so incompetent he totaled a plane by taxiing into a truck." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 8 minutes ago, seeker said: Twitter quote by some fool on the flight: "flight got canceled because our pilot wrecked the plane by driving into a truck on the tarmac. On the upside, I’m not in the air on a plane piloted by a pilot so incompetent he totaled a plane by taxiing into a truck." The account is already deleted, hopefully because of a flood of abuse for stupidity. Dumb statement but underscores the lack of knowledge about commercial aircraft. The fool probably thought the aircraft had a backup camera and was backing up under the full control of the pilot in the same manner as his (the fools) automobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Funny thing but I don't go through my life thinking I'm smarter than the person doing their job is; I hear about a problem in an operating room I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the surgeon use a bigger forceps?" I hear about a problem in a garage I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the mechanic use a bigger hammer and a Philips screwdriver?" Why is it when there's a problem at an airport everyone thinks they're smarter than the people doing the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 35 minutes ago, seeker said: Funny thing but I don't go through my life thinking I'm smarter than the person doing their job is; I hear about a problem in an operating room I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the surgeon use a bigger forceps?" I hear about a problem in a garage I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the mechanic use a bigger hammer and a Philips screwdriver?" Why is it when there's a problem at an airport everyone thinks they're smarter than the people doing the job? Agree but in this case the persons doing the job would have been the wing walkers and the tug operator unless of course the catering truck did a mad dash towards the aircraft. With any luck we may find out exactly what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 I’m assuming the Twittiot received some strong feedback because that account has been shut down. If the catering truck was parked, then it’s 100% on the ground crew. If it was moving, then the truck operator owns some responsibility as well. They’re not supposed to drive behind an aircraft when the beacon is flashing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 Perhaps not the most experienced ground crew and incidents like this always seem to happen when senior people are off duty enjoying the holidays. Also pay rates for these jobs have never matched the required responsibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 10 hours ago, seeker said: Funny thing but I don't go through my life thinking I'm smarter than the person doing their job is; I hear about a problem in an operating room I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the surgeon use a bigger forceps?" I hear about a problem in a garage I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the mechanic use a bigger hammer and a Philips screwdriver?" Why is it when there's a problem at an airport everyone thinks they're smarter than the people doing the job? Agreed. Stupid tweets but I guess they were venting without the correct information. That was Westjet’s job to make the incident details clear to their customers. Again, experience in handling these situations can prevent a lot of unnecessary negative PR. However, from my own and my family’s experiences I will continue to challenge doctors as well as mechanics. They can both easily make mistakes and will try to cover them up. The hourly shop rate you pay these days doesn’t always match the person who is assigned to your vehicle. And one of my favorite jokes: What do you call someone who graduates from Medical school with a ‘C’ average? Doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 airlines are notoriously bad at communication. considering the nature of an airline that relies heavily on communication (ATC, Maintenance etc) it's a little silly that they cannot convey information to the passengers efficiently. It always seems like they are trying to hide. Look an incident happened. Nothing that can be done about it now. Tell the passengers what happened (doesnt have to be detailed) and move on with a recovery plan. Every time I hear from passengers on the rolling delay I cringe. Excuses flow like water during a rolling delay and not one of the excuses is actually factual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvlchange Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 12 hours ago, seeker said: Funny thing but I don't go through my life thinking I'm smarter than the person doing their job is; I hear about a problem in an operating room I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the surgeon use a bigger forceps?" I hear about a problem in a garage I don't say, "D'uh, why didn't the mechanic use a bigger hammer and a Philips screwdriver?" Why is it when there's a problem at an airport everyone thinks they're smarter than the people doing the job? I was pushed and clipped wings a couple years ago. It was nearly 2 hours before we were pulled back to the gate. Investigations by the GTA, ground service company, airline, maintenance and finally the police (who actually asked for our drivers licenses and said they were treating it like a motor vehicle accident). I made announcements regularly, probably too often to tell truth. My FO while we were sitting there, reviewed Twitter. The passenger said, “we crashed into a plane and nobody is saying anything, I don’t know what’s happening, help”. I can’t remember the name, but we responded to take your earbuds out, waited and made a specific announcement directed at the individual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 It wouldn't matter how clear an announcement is in the back.......someone who knows "squat" about the workings of the airline industry, more importantly, the movement of an aircraft once it moves, will undoubtedly issue a stupid response/tweet based on their extremely limited knowledge. Probably because they are venting or want to be the first to get the message out to the media You wouldn't believe how many times I have been asked how were get the engines to go backwards after we land In the day of rapid access the media , most ego seekers only hear parts of the conversation from the FA's or "pointy end" people. On the PA.... (sample/example) Good morning.(afternoon)( evening,) I am sure this is not how you wanted to start your vacation but unfortunately , I regret to inform you that there will be a delay of a yet determined amount of time. It appears that our push back crew, the individuals that move our aircraft backwards prior to us starting the engines, may have inadvertently had our aircraft have a slight collision with a vehicle that was not properly positioned. That is all the information we have at this time and we will update you as soon as we have more information, please bear with us... Thank You. What tweetiledee hears... as he digs out his 'smart' phone........... Good morning.(afternoon)( evening,)I am sure this is not how you wanted to start your vacation but unfortunately , I regret to inform you that there will be a delay of a yet determined amount of time. It appears that as we reversed the aircraft pigiugiughigkjr engine start ptattewtrweqwe we backed into with a truck. We apologize afdjetjejeoudfgdfggdagt we're going to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 3 hours ago, blues deville said: However, from my own and my family’s experiences I will continue to challenge doctors as well as mechanics. They can both easily make mistakes and will try to cover them up. Certainly not saying that people who are supposed to be qualified can't make mistakes and/or shouldn't be questioned. My point is that I don't automatically assume they are incompetent and rush off to accuse them of being so without some reason and without some investigation. This passenger knows nothing about aviation and, worse, knows that he knows nothing but still calls the pilot incompetent - that's inexcusable. Personally, if someone I knew did this I would refuse to conduct any business with them or have social contact with them. If it was a family member and I couldn't do this I would still carry some doubt as to their impressions of things and their opinions. Basically, if you demonstrate that you're a fool I'll treat you as one and avoid you or doubt anything you say or do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 15 minutes ago, seeker said: My point is that I don't automatically assume they are incompetent and rush off to accuse them of being so without some reason and without some investigation. This passenger knows nothing about aviation and, worse, knows that he knows nothing but still calls the pilot incompetent - that's inexcusable. Understood. However a very real problem is that most people, and this is a fact, are afraid of flying. For these people any kind of delay or issue is amplified. Fortunately for those who either fix, fly or work around planes it’s not a problem. I know more family and friends who have a fear of flying than do not. Even my own daughter who has travelled since she was an infant. I’ve personally flown her over two oceans and other places and she tells me it’s fine when I’m one of the pilots. But for many it’s a complete loss of control to sit in something that leaves the ground. True. No excuse for nasty tweets about well trained pilots (or anyone) just doing their job but there’s always an a$$hole in every crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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