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Message
re: Delta passengers fall ill while stuck on tarmac for hours in Las Vegas heat wave
Posted on 7/20/23 at 12:56 pm to dcrews
Posted on 7/20/23 at 12:56 pm to dcrews
quote:I don't think it's just something they can "turn on". Pilots of the OT correct me if i'm wrong but the aircraft is on an external AC source when at the gate. Once it pulls away it has to be moving to take in cool air?
If I'm on a plane and it's 100+ degrees and you refuse to turn on the air conditioning, I'm fighting everyone including the pilot.
2
Posted on 7/20/23 at 1:04 pm to achenator
quote:
aircraft is on an external AC source when at the gate
Generally speaking that’s often true.
quote:
Once it pulls away it has to be moving to take in cool air?
Once it’s off the gate, air pressure is supplied by the packs via one or both engines, and/or the APU. You don’t have to be moving, but the packs do have to be operative. In this case, it sounds like there may have been an issue with one of the packs. In temperatures that high, one pack inoperative is enough to cause it to be very uncomfortable, especially if it’s a full plane.
The Captain flying that trip was hired in 2008. There’s virtually no chance this was an oversight. My best guess is that he was unaware of pending taxi delays and returned to the first available gate as soon as he could.
Posted on 7/20/23 at 1:27 pm to achenator
Please provide inflation adjusted data to support any claims that flying now is exorbitantly more expensive than it was in the past.
Many times we shut one or both engines down on an active taxiway to save fuel, generally in response to ATC/weather delays. I have a “planned”amount of fuel as well as a “minimum takeoff “ amount of fuel. I definitely do not want to get out of line to try to find an open gate to take on more gas and delay you even more, possibly leading to duty day issues for pilots or FAs unless I absolutely have to.
The A/C packs on most airliners are not as efficient at idle rpm as they are at high power settings, so if it’s warm in the back or I foresee extended ground time I’ll generally keep the auxiliary power unit (APU) on to provide more/better cooling air on the ground in the summer. In the same vein, I’ll turn it on for landing and run the AC off the APU while taxiing in because it works better and keeps you and me cooler. Corporate doesn’t like that because it burns more $$$$, but as the saying goes “The A/C works pretty nice over at HQ, so…..”. If the engines are shut down the APU is supplying electricity and air unless we are hooked up to the jet bridge or have portable power units plugged in and sometimes even then because many times it just works better.
I don’t know the specifics of the Delta situation, but there are generally 14 separate things going on that affect the flight and the decisions to wait/return to the gate/deplane. The FAA mandated limit is 3 hours domestically and 4 hours international. If we returned to the gate and deplaned every time there’s a delay or a wait for a departure slot you would never get anywhere. Sometimes despite my best intentions/efforts to take care of the pax something throws a monkey wrench in the plan. The fact that probably 2000-ish Delta flight operated that day without this happening doesn’t make you any happier when you’re sitting in back sweating your arse off.
Many times we shut one or both engines down on an active taxiway to save fuel, generally in response to ATC/weather delays. I have a “planned”amount of fuel as well as a “minimum takeoff “ amount of fuel. I definitely do not want to get out of line to try to find an open gate to take on more gas and delay you even more, possibly leading to duty day issues for pilots or FAs unless I absolutely have to.
The A/C packs on most airliners are not as efficient at idle rpm as they are at high power settings, so if it’s warm in the back or I foresee extended ground time I’ll generally keep the auxiliary power unit (APU) on to provide more/better cooling air on the ground in the summer. In the same vein, I’ll turn it on for landing and run the AC off the APU while taxiing in because it works better and keeps you and me cooler. Corporate doesn’t like that because it burns more $$$$, but as the saying goes “The A/C works pretty nice over at HQ, so…..”. If the engines are shut down the APU is supplying electricity and air unless we are hooked up to the jet bridge or have portable power units plugged in and sometimes even then because many times it just works better.
I don’t know the specifics of the Delta situation, but there are generally 14 separate things going on that affect the flight and the decisions to wait/return to the gate/deplane. The FAA mandated limit is 3 hours domestically and 4 hours international. If we returned to the gate and deplaned every time there’s a delay or a wait for a departure slot you would never get anywhere. Sometimes despite my best intentions/efforts to take care of the pax something throws a monkey wrench in the plan. The fact that probably 2000-ish Delta flight operated that day without this happening doesn’t make you any happier when you’re sitting in back sweating your arse off.
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