JetBlue Airbus A320 landed with parking brake engaged, says NTSB

by B. N. Sullivan

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a preliminary report on an incident last month involving an Airbus A320-232 aircraft operated by JetBlue Airways.  On  August 26, 2010, the aircraft (registration N590JB) flew from Daugherty Field, Long Beach, CA (LGB) to Sacramento International Airport (SMF), operating as Flight JBU 262.  Shortly after landing at Sacramento, a fire erupted in the area of the main landing gear, prompting the crew to carry out an emergency evacuation of the aircraft on the runway.  The NTSB found that the aircraft's parking brake was engaged during the landing.

From the NTSB preliminary report:

According to the flight crew, the flight and approach to runway 16R were normal.  The first officer was the flying pilot.

On touchdown, the airplane began a rapid deceleration, and the first officer remarked to the captain that it felt like a main landing gear tire blew out.  About this time, air traffic control tower personnel reported observing sparks and smoke in the area of the main landing gear.  The captain took control of the airplane.  He maintained directional control, and the airplane came to a stop about 2,000 feet from the touchdown point.

The captain directed the first officer to initiate the ground evacuation Quick Reference Checklist up to the evacuation decision point.  At that time, air traffic control tower personnel confirmed smoke and fire was still visible around the main landing gear.  Based on this information the captain elected to evacuate the airplane.

Crash fire rescue personnel and equipment responded to the airplane, which had stopped on the runway.  According to the flight crew and flight attendants, a swift and orderly evacuation was performed via emergency evacuation slides at the L1, R1, and L2 doors.

The airplane was subsequently examined by the operator and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel.  Airplane damage was limited to four deflated main landing gear tires and ground down wheel rims.  The main landing gear tires showed evidence of being locked on touchdown.  Ground damage was limited to minor grazing to the runway's surface.

According to airplane recorded flight data, the parking brake had become engaged during the landing approach approximately 5,100 feet mean sea level, and it remained engaged throughout the landing.  During interviews with the flight crew, neither pilot recalled any abnormal indications or warnings associated with the braking system prior to landing. [NTSB ID: WPR10IA430]

Seven of the 86 passengers on board sustained minor injuries during the evacuation process.  The two pilots and three flight attendants were not injured.

It is still unclear how the parking brake became engaged during flight. The investigation is continuing.

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An angry JetBlue flight attendant's dramatic exit

by B. N. Sullivan

The story is all over the newswires:  Earlier today, a JetBlue flight attendant made a very dramatic exit from an Embraer 190 aircraft at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. The incident happened shortly after JetBlue Flt 1052 arrived at JFK from Pittsburgh.

According to news reports, it seems a passenger refused to remain seated until the aircraft came to a full stop at the gate and the seat belt sign was turned off.  Instead, the passenger left his/her seat and began trying to retrieve hand baggage from an overhead bin.  After a heated verbal exchange with the passenger, the flight attendant reportedly 'lost it'.  He made an expletive-laced announcement over the PA system, then popped one of the aircraft's emergency slides, and promptly used it to make his dramatic exit. Reports say he then bee-lined through the terminal to a parking lot, got into his car and drove home (where he was later arrested).

The flight attendant's actions were undeniably unusual, definitely costly for the airline, and certainly against FAA regulations.  Nevertheless, he has become an instant folk hero among flight attendants everywhere, judging from the volume and content of the chatter on Twitter, and comments made by crew members on several news websites and internet forums.

The prevailing view:  This flight attendant actually dared to do what so many other flight attendants have felt like doing at one time or another.

Flight attendants were not so much horrified by this event as they were amused and, yes, impressed!   They all know that this was a serious incident, yet it clearly struck a chord of  sympathy in cabin crew everywhere.  (And on Twitter,  even non-crew people tweeted and re-tweeted the story, with comments like, "Best way to quit a job, ever!")

Now, there probably is more to this story.  Who knows what else happened during that flight attendant's trip, or what might be going on in his life away from work.  While the uncooperative passenger's behavior may have triggered the flight attendant's meltdown, it likely was "the straw that broke the camel's back" -- the final stressor of many, which simply led to a sort of emotional circuit overload.

A Reuters report about the incident quotes a spokesman for the Port Authority police, who said that  the flight attendant "will likely be charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief."

I'm wondering if the misbehaving passenger will be charged with "interfering with a flight crew," too.

Here are links to some of the press stories about this event, replete with photos apparently lifted from the flight attendant's MySpace page.  And by the way, the comments on all of these articles make for an interesting read:

• Flight Attendant Pops Emergency Chute, Escapes Plane at JFK - The Wall Street Journal
• Flight Attendant Uses Emergency Slide to Escape Dispute - The New York Times
• Flight Attendant Uses Inflatable Slide for Dramatic Job Walk-Out  - Gawker.com

UPDATE: A man who says he was a passenger on the JetBlue flight wrote his account of the incident on his blog: Just a little excitement on my flight today, by Phil Catelinet  [Hat tip to @businessinsider for tweeting the link.]

Ta daa! JetBlue unveils new livery

by B. N. Sullivan

JetBlue unveiled its new livery this evening in a ceremony at Orlando. They are calling the tailfin design 'Blueberries' (but I think it looks more like blue soap bubbles).

According to a series of tweets on @JetBlue's Twitter feed, the Blueberries design will be applied to several more planes and "the larger logo will roll out as planes need repainting and Blueberries tailfin will be added to the fleet with the others."

The photo here came from JetBlue's Flickr feed. There are lots more photos there from tonight's livery unveiling ceremony. Go there to have a look at the rest of the new aircraft paint job, too.

We'll all be watching for the Blueberries now.

Engine fire prompts emergency evacuation of JetBlue E190 at Nassau, Bahamas

by B. N. Sullivan

An Embraer 190 aircraft operated by JetBlue Airways made an emergency landing at Lynden Pindling International Airport, in Nassau, Bahamas today after its number one engine reportedly caught fire. The aircraft, operating as JetBlue Flight 1781, was arriving in Nassau from Orlando, FL at the time of the emergency.

A brief Reuters article about the incident quoted an FAA spokeswoman who said the fire was extinguished shortly after the aircraft landed. All 89 passengers and four crew members evacuated the aircraft on the runway via emergency slides. There were no reports of injuries.

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JetBlue pilots' union certification election unsuccessful

JetBlue pilots will remain without a union, at least for the time being. A ballot to certify the JetBlue Pilots Association as the sole bargaining agent for the pilots at JetBlue Airways was unsuccessful.

In November, pilots at JetBlue Airways filed a petition with the National Mediation Board (NMB) seeking union representation. A certification election was held, but according to results announced today, only 646 voted for union representation, while 1,291 out of a total of 1,937 pilots eligible to vote did not cast a ballot. In order for a union to be certified, the NMB rules requires that 50%-plus-one of those eligible to vote must have cast ballots in favor of the union.

Once the results were announced, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger released the following statement to the media:

"We are very pleased that JetBlue's Pilots have chosen to retain their direct relationship with the company. We will continue to work closely with our Pilots and all JetBlue crewmembers to ensure JetBlue's competitive position remains strong and our culture remains unique in the industry. We truly believe culture, an environment of collaboration and the company's agility are key competitive advantages for JetBlue."

Management at JetBlue Airways, which has no unionized work groups, had been opposed to the pilots' quest to establish a collective bargaining unit.

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Pilots petition to form JetBlue's first union

Pilots at JetBlue Airways have filed a petition with the National Mediation Board (NMB) seeking union representation. The JetBlue Pilots Association, organized as an independent union, wants to be recognized as the sole bargaining agent for the nearly 2,000 pilots of JetBlue. Until now, none of the work groups at JetBlue have been unionized.

JetBlue Pilots Association leaders Captains Michael Sorbie and William Evans said in a joint statement on the Association's website, "We have complete faith in our current company leadership and believe that this will be a cooperative effort. As our airline matures, we want to ensure that the career expectations of our pilots will remain intact regardless of organizational changes. We welcome the opportunity to communicate concerns through a voice that is supported by the lawful process of the Railway Labor Act. This process also provides a stability and cost certainty that will be beneficial to our company as we grow into the future."

JetBlue's management team is not thrilled at the prospect of a pilots' union. An article on business news website Forbes.com quoted a JetBlue spokesman who said JetBlue believes "a direct relationship with the company is in our pilots' best interest."

JetBlue Pilots Association leaders said that they provided advance notice of the intent to file the petition to both CEO David Barger and the JetBlue Board of Directors, indicating the type of relationship that exists today and confirming the type of direction that should be expected in the future.

"Our desire to seek formal recognition underscores our need to have a relationship based not only on the benevolence of a leadership team that could transition at any time, but on a relationship where there exists a means to resolve our private discourses under the support of legal process," Capt. Sorbie said.

The NMB soon will begin the steps toward a request for an election and representation authorization. JetBlue Pilots Association leaders are proposing an independent organization and are not seeking association with any third party national union.

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JetBlue Embraer E190 sets a world performance record

Yesterday USA Today's Ben Mutzabaugh wrote a brief article in his Today in the Sky Blog about the final flight of the McCain-Palin campaign plane chartered from JetBlue. The plane is an Embraer E190 like the one in the photo at right -- except that it bore a McCain-Palin logo on its fuselage for the duration of its charter.

The aircraft was used to shuttle Sarah Palin around to 29 different states during the recent election campaign. Its last official mission was to return Gov. Palin and her family to Anchorage on the day after the election. Then yesterday, the crew ferried the aircraft from Anchorage back to JetBlue's home base in New York, with a stop in Buffalo.

As I read that last bit, I remember thinking, "Anchorage to Buffalo nonstop? Hmm, that sounds like quite a long flight for an E190."

It was. In fact, the flight made aviation history.

Today Ben Mutzabaugh did a follow-up story about the JetBlue E190 flight in USA Today. Here is an excerpt:

In a message to employees on the company's intranet, JetBlue says "aircraft 239, the McCain-Palin charter jet, set a new record by jetting from Anchorage, to Buffalo nonstop. At 2,694 nautical miles, this was the longest E190 flight ever operated by any airline on the planet!"

"Flight 4500 took off from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport at 11:23 a.m. (Alaska time) and landed some 6 hours and 11 minutes later, at 9:34 p.m. (ET), at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. This ultra-long segment was the first leg of the aircraft's return to JFK and its eventual return to scheduled service in the coming days," JetBlue adds on its intranet.

I checked the JetBlue website for a press release about this feat: nothing.

I checked the Embraer website for performance information about the E190. It said that the E190 "has a range of 2,400 nm (4,445 km) and a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.82," but that was computed for a long range cruise payload of 98 passengers @ 220lb (100kg). Yesterday's record flight was a ferry flight, of course, so it had no such payload. Mutzabaugh's article mentioned that JetBlue credited "a strong tailwind" and the fact that plane was not weighed down by passengers and luggage.

Still, the duration and distance of JetBlue Flight 4500 was impressive, don't you think? Kudos to the unnamed crew members who flew that E190 into the aviation record books on November 6, 2008.

Next week the aircraft will have its McCain-Palin logo removed and replaced with the standard JetBlue logo and livery, after which it will be returned to regular service.

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JetBlue Opens New Terminal 5 At JFK Airport

Terminal 5, JetBlue's new home at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), officially opened yesterday. According to the airline, all JetBlue departures from JFK will now operate from "T5," as will all domestic arrivals and international arrivals that pre-clear U.S. customs prior to arriving in New York.

A press release about T5 issued by JetBlue says, in part:

One of the first terminals in the U.S. to be completely designed and built post 9/11, T5 focuses on efficiency and customer comfort. The 635,000-square-foot terminal boasts 26 gates distributed throughout three concourses and includes a 55,000-square-foot central retail and concession Marketplace. T5 is designed to accommodate up to 20 million annual customers with up to 250 daily departures.

"From day one Terminal 5 will welcome more than 30 percent of JFK's annual customer traffic," said Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways. "The terminal is designed specifically with our customers in mind, and we have created a new standard in both comfort and service that everyone can enjoy. Its unique amenities will create a stress free on-the-ground experience for JetBlue customers that will match the innovative and award-winning experience JetBlue is known for in the air."

Some of T5's features:

• two check-in areas with a total of 65 e-ticket kiosks and 40 traditional check-in counters
• a large central security checkpoint capable of accommodating 20 screening lanes
• an automated "in-line" baggage system to move bags from the check-in lobby through screening and to the ramp
• free Wi-Fi throughout the terminal
• grandstand seating under a 40-foot-diameter digital ring of LCD monitors
spacious gate areas with ample seating
• a children's play space
• twenty-two concessions
• 25 specialty retail stores
• nine full-serve restaurants, bars and cafes
• eight quick-serve eateries
• grab-and-go gourmet markets
• three coffee bars, and six bars/lounges

Also included: an innovative gate area program called re:vive that allows customers to use touch-screen monitors to order meals for delivery to the gate areas.

According to information provided by JetBlue, T5 was designed by Gensler and created in collaboration with Turner Construction Company, Arup, AECOM (as DMJM Harris) and Rockwell Group. The terminal was majority funded by and built in collaboration with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Kennedy Airport's operator. The design of JetBlue's new T5 began in March 2004 with groundbreaking occurring in December 2005.

T5 is located behind the well-known Eero Saarinen-designed TWA terminal, which remains under the control of the Port Authority. The Port Authority is rehabilitating and restoring the landmark structure and plans to reopen it to the public at a later date.

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