This report on the MD80 incident which happened on January 30, 2000, appeared today

Spirit Airlines Suspends Pilot After Passengers Complain About Flight

The Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) - Spirit Airlines has suspended a pilot after several passengers complained about an in-flight incident that didn't match the pilot's description of the flight, airline officials said.

The name of the pilot has not been released by the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based airline. Greg Van Brunt, Spirit's vice president of maintenance, described the pilot as very experienced and said he had been suspended with pay.

Van Brunt said the airline is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration's investigation into the Jan. 30 flight from Fort Myers, Fla., to Detroit.

Several passengers on the flight called the airline to complain about a rapid loss in altitude and a howling sound from one of the MD-80's engines. At least one of the passengers also believed one of the plane's engines shut down during the flight, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

"The loudest, most piercing sound I've ever heard from an engine, so loud that my wife sitting next to me couldn't hear me shouting to her, then it shut completely down. I mean complete silence. You could not hear anything but the wind against the plane outside," said Ed Copley of Macomb County's Shelby Township.

Copley said he has never experienced anything like it in the hundreds of flights he has been on. "Then it fell," he said. "The descent was pretty steep. It was nose-down about 30 degrees." The violent shaking began about an hour into the flight, said Ann Jara of Westland.

"Flight attendants yelled they have to sit down," she said. "One went running down the aisle saying, 'Oh, my God.'"

The shaking and noise "went on a couple of minutes, then dead silence. We really thought we were going to die."

The plane, which had 160 people on board, landed in Detroit about an hour after the incident, Van Brunt said. Initially, he said the plane ran into what appeared to be severe turbulence at 35,000 feet, reduced power in one or both engines, and dropped to 31,000 feet before powering back up and leveling off.

The airline now thinks something else might have caused the problems, Van Brunt said. But the plane's "black boxes," or flight data recorders, showed that the plane's engines did not shut down, contrary to passenger reports, he said.

The plane was flown back to Florida without passengers and no problems were discovered during an exam.

"We've reviewed all the logbooks, and there's no history of problems with the airplane whatsoever," Van Brunt said.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGI8WPJKG4C.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 09, 2000

Answers

ANOTHER MD-80??!!

No two ways about it, they have to be grounded. It's just too damn risky to take any more chances with these close calls.

There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there aren't very many old bold pilots.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), February 09, 2000.

Happened January 30, 2000, eh?

Same old same old Y2K Deal Sindrone: Lie 'n Deny

Life 101: Cover It Up !

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), February 09, 2000.

I wonder if that plane is still in service (of course it is). Wouldn't want to fly on it.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), February 09, 2000.

I think it is about time to demand the planes be grounded... if not, then just to see how confident they are about the remainer of intact planes (MD-80's)... put our lying leaders (both corporate and executive/legislature/judical branch denial clans aboard (FREE CHARGE) and fly them back and forth from coast to coast on February 28/29th landing in California... Nah...they probably already have plans to limo somewhere. BRyan

-- SB Ryan G III (sbrg3@juno.com), February 09, 2000.

Tabulation of MD-80 events?

AA Flight 261 (Feb 1, was it?)

AA Flight XXX emergency landing in Phoenix -- same day

AA Flight XXX emergency landing about 2 days later, forget where

Yesterday'semergency landing on a flight from Peurta Vallarta to Seattle

Jan 30: Spirit Airlines (this) report of stabilizer problems, Ft. Lauderdale to Detroit

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), February 09, 2000.