News
Cheap air dropping in sometime soon
Is it possible that there is a rogue airline operating out of the Barnstable Municipal Airport? No, not Cape Air or Island Air or Nantucket Air, the other one; the one that appeared very recently and while operating the same equipment on its shuttle flights to the Islands was somehow able to beat everyone else's ticket prices. Some people are supsicious that maintainance costs might be where this new operator found room for savings. Events durting the past three weeks should probably scare anyone who flies on this airline or lives near its flight paths.
The sprinklers would not have worked in case of a fire, a fire at the airportTwo weeks ago FAA inspectors arrived in Hyannis to inspect one of this company's planes which had hit the tail of its fuselage pretty hard on the ground. When the inspectors asked that the plane be rolled into the airline's hangar for inspection out of the weather, use of the hangar was denied by the fire department. It seems the cost control department of the airline had saved a little money by not 'charging' the building's fire suppression system. All this technical talk simply means that the sprinklers would not have worked in case of a fire, a fire at an airport.
Then there are the famous non-lights. A recent face-to-face poll of several people at the airport in Hyannis yielded scary results. People, crew members on other airlines, frequent passengers to the islands, airport ground workers...all said they has seen this little airiline's planes in flight, taxiing on the runways, taking off and landing in the dark with no lights visible from the planes. The stories are legion about pilots in other planes using their radios to advise the pilots for Cheap Air to turn on their lights. Sometimes the reported reply is, "Oh, yeah, gee, thanks."
While conducting the poll described above Barnstable County Reporter was told by a man at the Cafe at the Airport that he had been flying to Nantucket as a daily commuter on business for years, that he had flown the new cheap airline a few times and that he would never fly on them again. He cited fear as his reason.
Last week a flight was halfway to Nantucket when something mechanical went wrongFor those in Yarmouth disturbed by early morning flights to Nantucket that occur earlier than the airport has agreed for a starting time and at lower than prescribed altitudes, the suspect has probably just been identified. It is the new Cheap Air operation.
Last week a flight was halfway to Nantucket when something mechanical went wrong and the pilot turned around, landing back in Hyannis. Dozens of witnesses saw ten people emerge from the plane. The allowable maximum load calls for eight passengers plus one pilot. That means nine people on board is the maximum allowed load, not ten. Reportedley this overloading practice is not just common, it is standard procedure for Cheap Air.
Also last week, the same aircraft aborted a takeoff from Hyannis. No information is available about the reasons for this plane twice experiencing mechanical problems in one week, at least none that Barnstable County reporter can acquire. There are, however, stories about this airline's planes failing to observe minimum vertical and horizontal separations in flight: flying too close to other planes. Mechanical failure in mid flight plus flying too close to other aircraft is an interesting approach to public safety.
There is a digital record of flight operations available on line that shows actual flight paths for flights from Hyannis to Nantucket, as well as the entire U. S. The record of one recent day shows two planes approaching Nantucket in a graceful curve around the island, their altitudes clearly shown. Suddenly a third plane appears on the chart, moving straight, fast and low across the island toward the Nantucket airport. This third plane is the Cheap Air flight racing to beat the other two flights to the landing strip and its altitude over the middle of Nantucket island is less than three hundred feet. This is irrefutable because planes drop off the screen when they fly below that altritude and Cheap Air diasappeared.
Barnstable County reporter will ask the Barnstable Municipal Airport, the FAA and Cheap Air to explain these events in the coming few days. It should be noted that Quincy 'Doc" Moseby, manager of the Barnstable Municipal Airport said when asked that he forwards all complaints about airline operations to the FAA and that both the authority and the responsibility for investigating such matters and issuing findings is theirs. He said he has little power in such matters and would not comment on any ongoing investigations.
The obvious and unavoidable question is: how big a disaster will be required for someone to do something effective about this situation? How long will it be before Cheap Air drops into a neighborhood near you?
Source: http://www.capecodtoday.com
Is it possible that there is a rogue airline operating out of the Barnstable Municipal Airport? No, not Cape Air or Island Air or Nantucket Air, the other one; the one that appeared very recently and while operating the same equipment on its shuttle flights to the Islands was somehow able to beat everyone else's ticket prices. Some people are supsicious that maintainance costs might be where this new operator found room for savings. Events durting the past three weeks should probably scare anyone who flies on this airline or lives near its flight paths.
The sprinklers would not have worked in case of a fire, a fire at the airportTwo weeks ago FAA inspectors arrived in Hyannis to inspect one of this company's planes which had hit the tail of its fuselage pretty hard on the ground. When the inspectors asked that the plane be rolled into the airline's hangar for inspection out of the weather, use of the hangar was denied by the fire department. It seems the cost control department of the airline had saved a little money by not 'charging' the building's fire suppression system. All this technical talk simply means that the sprinklers would not have worked in case of a fire, a fire at an airport.
Then there are the famous non-lights. A recent face-to-face poll of several people at the airport in Hyannis yielded scary results. People, crew members on other airlines, frequent passengers to the islands, airport ground workers...all said they has seen this little airiline's planes in flight, taxiing on the runways, taking off and landing in the dark with no lights visible from the planes. The stories are legion about pilots in other planes using their radios to advise the pilots for Cheap Air to turn on their lights. Sometimes the reported reply is, "Oh, yeah, gee, thanks."
While conducting the poll described above Barnstable County Reporter was told by a man at the Cafe at the Airport that he had been flying to Nantucket as a daily commuter on business for years, that he had flown the new cheap airline a few times and that he would never fly on them again. He cited fear as his reason.
Last week a flight was halfway to Nantucket when something mechanical went wrongFor those in Yarmouth disturbed by early morning flights to Nantucket that occur earlier than the airport has agreed for a starting time and at lower than prescribed altitudes, the suspect has probably just been identified. It is the new Cheap Air operation.
Last week a flight was halfway to Nantucket when something mechanical went wrong and the pilot turned around, landing back in Hyannis. Dozens of witnesses saw ten people emerge from the plane. The allowable maximum load calls for eight passengers plus one pilot. That means nine people on board is the maximum allowed load, not ten. Reportedley this overloading practice is not just common, it is standard procedure for Cheap Air.
Also last week, the same aircraft aborted a takeoff from Hyannis. No information is available about the reasons for this plane twice experiencing mechanical problems in one week, at least none that Barnstable County reporter can acquire. There are, however, stories about this airline's planes failing to observe minimum vertical and horizontal separations in flight: flying too close to other planes. Mechanical failure in mid flight plus flying too close to other aircraft is an interesting approach to public safety.
There is a digital record of flight operations available on line that shows actual flight paths for flights from Hyannis to Nantucket, as well as the entire U. S. The record of one recent day shows two planes approaching Nantucket in a graceful curve around the island, their altitudes clearly shown. Suddenly a third plane appears on the chart, moving straight, fast and low across the island toward the Nantucket airport. This third plane is the Cheap Air flight racing to beat the other two flights to the landing strip and its altitude over the middle of Nantucket island is less than three hundred feet. This is irrefutable because planes drop off the screen when they fly below that altritude and Cheap Air diasappeared.
Barnstable County reporter will ask the Barnstable Municipal Airport, the FAA and Cheap Air to explain these events in the coming few days. It should be noted that Quincy 'Doc" Moseby, manager of the Barnstable Municipal Airport said when asked that he forwards all complaints about airline operations to the FAA and that both the authority and the responsibility for investigating such matters and issuing findings is theirs. He said he has little power in such matters and would not comment on any ongoing investigations.
The obvious and unavoidable question is: how big a disaster will be required for someone to do something effective about this situation? How long will it be before Cheap Air drops into a neighborhood near you?
Source: http://www.capecodtoday.com
