ALASKA
AIRLINES IS FIGHTING "RAMP RASH" WITH CARSON SAFETY BUMPERS
FOR SUPERIOR EDGE PROTECTION
"Absolutely
terrifying" flight after ground-crew mistake"
"An
investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
said baggage handlers had bumped the plane's fuselage with loading
equipment and caused "a crease" in the side of the aircraft.
The handlers are contract workers hired to replace unionized workers
in May. About 20 minutes after takeoff, the crease blew into a
1-foot-by-6-inch hole, said Jim Struhsaker, an NTSB senior air-safety
investigator."
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the full article, please click
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"Sea-Tac's
troubles on the tarmac"
"Since
January 2003, 30 planes have been hit on the ground, nearly all
of them by a worker driving a vehicle or moving a passenger jetway…"
"Seven people have been sent to the hospital, and on 15 occasions
workers have left the scene of an incident without reporting it.
In all, the airport has tracked 175 incidents on the ramps, the
areas where planes are loaded and unloaded. With few exceptions,
the many fender-benders and other dings that happen daily don't
have to be reported to anyone…"
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the full article, please click
here.
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"Alaska
isn't the only airline with ground-safety troubles"
"…in
Chicago, a United Airlines jet was damaged on the runway when
it collided with a baggage loader.
"…in
Philadelphia, a Southwest Airlines 737 was damaged when a baggage
loader banged into one of its engines. Airline accidents on the
ground are so common that aviation experts have a term for them:
"ramp rash." It's hard to quantify them because reporting
requirements are vague, but a panel of safety experts who studied
the problem in 2004 estimated ground accidents cost the world's
airlines $5 billion a year. Although several Alaska Airlines mishaps
have made headlines… national and local aviation experts
say accidents are a problem for all airlines.
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the full article, please click
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