New flight Regulations about carry-on

[mempilot]

Maybe - but I can only go on the info provided. If I have to guess based on complete speculation - then - well, maybe the pilot had a bad case of jock itch and didn't think he could fly a couple of hours without getting some powder and/or cream first - hence the delay.

There you go. That's a lot more probable.

 

[mempilot]

1. if the door could not be repaired and was required to be accessible in flight due to safety equipment normally stored in one end of the bin. If you remove the door, the equipment is now not secured and if needed for flight safety, you don't go anywhere.

Ding ding ding. Now the rest of the story is told. While a flight would never be cancelled, or even delayed for more than minutes due to a standard broken overhead bin door being inop, the bins that hold emergency gear are not deferable via the MEL.

If you had shared that information (maybe you didn't have it, or even worse, NWA didn't explain the difference and allowed pax to think it was a standard door problem), then there would be no exaggereation surrounding the event, and I wouldn't have jumped in to, ummmm, 'defend' the airline in this case.

Like I stated in an above post, there is always more to a story than is shared, or there is a completely different side to it. On RBW, there is a recent thread about a 'bad' dive boat operation. The poster details the 'why', but it is from his perspective. Then, the other side of the story finally comes out after several pages of people taking the OP at face value. Thing is, the story was biased and off base.

Communication is the key. If NWA didn't communicate the problem sufficiently, then that was really stupid of them. Because, people come online to these types of boards and say, "My flight was delayed 5 hours and then cancelled due to a bin that wouldn't close." Instead, it should be, "A bin that secures safety critical items was broken and could not be deferred. Parts would have to come from another city, and due to the inavailability of a replacement aircraft, the flight was finally cancelled." Airlines are required to give the pax frequent status updates surrounding the cause of a delay via the 'Passenger Bill of Rights'. As to whether that information has to be accurate or not is up to the airline.

 

[shawnferd]

Sounds like the flight crew were not on top of things. They could have removed the broken door entirely, put any bags in that bin into cargo, and had the plane underway in all of 15 minutes - and deferred repair of the door until later. It's no wonder the airline industry loses money.

The flight crew probably would have done this. But, it is the maintenance controller who makes the call. Plus an approved maintenance tech (A/P mechanic) must actually remove the door and do the paperwork. Flight crews are very limited in what tools they can use on the airplane. Also if the MEL says it can't be deferred then the decision is made.

I blame the selfish dork who broke the door. The poor flight crew probably just wanted to get underway and get to their hotel.

 

[tridacna]

it was a broken overhead bin door damaged by a moron trying to stuff an oversized carry on in to the bin and then close the door on the too large bag.

Is this part of the story still true? You gotta be real stupid to try and stuff an over-sized bag into the compartment that already contains emergency equipment.

 

[mempilot]

Is this part of the story still true? You gotta be real stupid to try and stuff an over-sized bag into the compartment that already contains emergency equipment.

Some aircraft utilize part of a bin for emergency equipment seperated from the rest of the bin by a thin bulkhead. A single door covers both sections. Many airlines allow the crew to utilize (take up) this space with their bags so that pax don't interact with that compartment.