Travel Thread

[shoeshine boy]

We both are - but I doubt it would've made a significant enough discount. But going forward, we'll check that rate.

yeah, gov rates are crazy. sometimes they're a fantastic deal and sometimes you're better off paying the general rate.

[nocera]

As somebody who hates to fly, and has an upcoming transatlantic flight on a 787, I've been following the story of the LATAM flight very closely. Obviously Boeing is in the news a lot lately, and with good reason, but the cause of the nose dive was revealed today by investigators...

According to the report, a LATAM Airlines flight attendant hit a switch on the pilot's seat while serving a meal, activating a motorized feature that pushed the pilot into the controls and sent the plane into a nose dive, the officials said. The switch has a cover and is not supposed to be used when a pilot is in the seat.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/c ... 87-wsj.amp

So, not flight controls, computers, sensors, turbulence, etc... This isn't another Max 8 situation. A flight attendance accidentally pushed the pilot into the controls while serving a meal. That does make me feel better about flying on the Dreamliner but it's a bit insane that's what caused the nose dive.

[NTP66]

Rather it be human error than equipment, honestly. The fact of the matter is that the pilots recovered quickly.

[nocera]

Me too for sure. I'm also sure there will lead to some regulation or at least extra care when serving pilots food on the 787. Maybe it'll be as simple as "hey, don't lean on the seat adjustment button dummies."

[Beveridge]

Pushed the pilot into the controls while serving dinner...more like pushed into controls doing something else.

[dodint]

If the switch is not supposed to be used when the pilot is in the seat then you can solve that with a pressure switch in the seat bottom.

I'll send my consultation bill to Boeing.

[Shyster]

Boeing issued a service bulletin back in 2017 about making sure that the switch covers we not broken and were working properly. Sounds maybe like LATAM might not have been keeping up with the recommended maintenance.

Wouldn't be the dumbest way to cause an accident.

Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 - pilots (in a thankfully empty repositioning flight) crash their Bombardier CRJ200 and kill themselves after they exceed the aircraft's maximum altitude and flame out both engines because "we don't have any passengers on board so we decided to have a little fun and come on up here."

Aeroflot Flight 593 - a brand-new Airbus A310 crashes and kills 75 people after the pilot let his 13-year-old son sit at the controls, and the son accidentally bumps off the autopilot, which the pilots fail to notice until the aircraft banks over, and then the pilots fail to property correct the upset before crashing into the ground.

Aeroflot Flight 6502 - cocky pilot crashes Tupolev Tu-134 and kills 70 after making a bet that he could execute an instrument-only landing with curtains drawn over the front windows (spoiler alert: he lost that bet).

[dodint]

I watched this video the other day and was pretty much screaming at the TV by the time it ended:

The short of it is that they put it into a stall condition at 37,000ft and instead of simply lowering the nose and gaining airspeed they rode it straight down, nose up all the way, into the ocean. Killed everyone.

[nocera]

Well, this thread suddenly isn't helping my whole hate to fly thing.

[dodint]

Don't worry about it, the crew was French. They surrendered to gravity.

[tifosi77]

"Badly flown and only crashed once"

[shafnutz05]

I watched this video the other day and was pretty much screaming at the TV by the time it ended:

The short of it is that they put it into a stall condition at 37,000ft and instead of simply lowering the nose and gaining airspeed they rode it straight down, nose up all the way, into the ocean. Killed everyone.

I really did not enjoy watching this. Just a nonstop compounding of errors.

[tifosi77]

There is an admirable bit of optimism depicting the aircraft more or less intact after crashing and sinking underwater.

[dodint]

The production value is a bit lacking.

[eddy]

Heading down to johns Hopkins for a campus tour and lacrosse game , family wants seafood. Anyone have recommendations around that area?

[DigitalGypsy66]

Is the San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway museum doable in a day? The zoo is open until 9 PM that day. We'd be driving in from LA (what a weird thing to say for this east coast boy lol).

[NTP66]

The zoo is definitely doable in an afternoon, but be prepared to hike; lots of steep hills and walkways. Not sure about the museum, though.

[tifosi77]

Just understand you're committing to 6+ hrs of car time, LA - SD round trip.

Never been to the zoo, but Midway is neat. It's maybe the only aircraft carrier museum where you can see actual commissioned carriers at berth across the Bay.

I've done that day trip into SD proper I think twice, once for SDCC and once for the Centennial of Naval Aviation event at NAS North Island. On the SDCC trip I was waylaid in traffic on the 5 for over 2 hrs as the Marines staged an amphibious 'invasion' of CA at Camp Pendleton for a TV ad. (I go to the annual airshow at MCAS Miramar all the time, but it's far enough out that you don't hit the meat of SD traffic)

[DigitalGypsy66]

I figured we'd get the full So Cal experience by sitting in traffic.

[NTP66]

We drove from LA to SD back in 2012. The worst traffic was honestly the PCH. Once we got on I-5 S, it was smooth sailing.

[DigitalGypsy66]

We looked into Amtrak, but that's double the price of a rental car and another 2 hours travel.

[nocera]

Yeah I love Amtrak but I’d only use it when the travel is part of the trip and not just a means to the destination.

[CBear3]

When ya going DG?

[DigitalGypsy66]

We'll be there the second week of June.

[CBear3]

Nice...
We debated the zoo when we're there this weekend. We may still go, but really the highlight is just sitting/playing on the beach.