Final flight for Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 aircraft and crews

by B. N. Sullivan

The arrival of a Midwest Airlines Boeing 717-200 aircraft at Milwaukee last evening, November 2, 2009, marked what Midwest employees are calling the end of an era. Midwest flight MEP210, from Boston's Logan International Airport to Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport was the final flight for the aircraft and its crew, and the final flight of Midwest Airlines as an independent entity. [Click here to listen to a podcast of an interview with Capt. Dan Norden, commander of the final Midwest flight, on 620 WTMJ's "Wisconsin's Morning News"]

Republic Airways Holdings announced plans to acquire Midwest in June of this year, and closed the deal the following month. Beginning today, November 3, Republic will operate all flights on Midwest's routes, using crews and aircraft from its other subsidiaries. Midwest's Boeing 717 aircraft are reportedly scheduled to be returned to the manufacturer, and the remaining Midwest pilots will no longer fly any Midwest aircraft.

Capt. Anthony Freitas, chairman of the Midwest Airlines group of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), said in a statement:

"While there will still be airplanes flying with ‘Midwest’ written on them, there will no longer be any of the pilots who truly provided ‘The Best Care in the Air’ operating them. All of the original Midwest flight crews are being outsourced in the final phase of dismantling our airline.

"Midwest’s new owner hopes that if they keep the same paint scheme and cookies, no one will notice that the crews who helped build our airline’s well-deserved reputation for award-winning customer service are gone. Clearly, the replacement of highly experienced Midwest pilots with lower-cost labor will be devastating for our pilots and their families. But the traveling public will also be affected because they will lose the high experience levels and the extraordinary dedication to service that the real Midwest pilots have always taken great pride in providing."

Over the past year, more than 400 flight attendants also have lost their jobs due to outsourcing of flight attendant positions to another carrier, and the eventual sale of Midwest to Republic Holdings, according to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents Midwest's flight attendants.

Toni Higgins, president of AFA's Midwest unit, points out that following yesterday's final Boeing 717 flight,Midwest Airlines "will exist in name only."

"Management has succeeded in creating a virtual airline that no longer employs Midwest flight attendants or pilots. Over 400 flight attendants, many of whom have dedicated over 20 years to our hometown airline, find themselves jobless, facing the uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. However, management continues to benefit from destroying our once great airline under the protections of their golden parachutes," said Higgins.

Both ALPA and AFA are currently engaged in negotiations aimed at integrating the seniority lists of Midwest Airlines with those of Republic's other subsidiaries in the hope of restoring the jobs of as many Midwest crew members as possible.

AFA also has a pending grievance against Republic Airlines for violating the Midwest collective bargaining agreement. In this grievance, the flight attendants' union "is challenging Republic's right to replace Midwest flight attendants with Republic flight attendants and, in doing so, furlough Midwest flight attendants."

NTSB issues probable cause report for 2008 safety incident aboard Obama's plane

by B. N. Sullivan

On July 7, 2008, a chartered Midwest Airlines MD-81 (registration N804ME), which was carrying then-Senator Barack Obama and his presidential election campaign entourage, diverted to St. Louis due to a mechanical problem. The aircraft was en route from Chicago to Charlotte, but had developed a "flight control anomaly" during initial climb. The aircraft made an uneventful landing at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, after which it was discovered that the escape slide in the aircraft's tailcone had inflated in flight, apparently interfering with the aircraft's elevator cables. Today the U.S. National transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its report on the incident, including a statement of probable cause.

The NTSB determined the probable cause(s) of this incident as follows:

The inadvertent partial inflation of the evacuation slide within the tailcone during takeoff and subsequent binding of the elevator control cables.

The partial inflation resulted from the tailcone evacuation slide cover failing to be secured to the floor fittings on the walkway for undetermined reasons.

There were no injuries among the two pilots, four flight attendants, two airline representatives, and 43 passengers. The passengers included Mr. Obama, members of his staff, news reporters, and United States Secret Service (USSS) personnel.

Flight Details

According to the NTSB report, the flight crew told investigators that the problem arose shortly after departure from Chicago Midway International Airport. During initial climb, the aircraft's pitch increased without a corresponding flight control input and exceeded normal limits before the captain was able to regain control.

Quoting from the NTSB report:

The captain reported that after liftoff the airplane's pitch continued to increase without a corresponding flight control input. The airplane's pitch reached 20-25 degrees nose up before he regained control using control column and stabilizer pitch trim inputs. The flight crew noted that the pitch control pressure required to level the airplane was "higher than normal."

Although the flight crew was able to regain control of the aircraft, a significant restriction in pitch control still remained. Consequently, the crew elected to divert to St. Louis instead of continuing to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, the intended destination.

The captain told investigators that as the airplane passed through 15,000 feet mean sea level (msl), normal pitch control pressures returned. No further flight control restrictions or anomalies were encountered during the remainder descent and landing.

Inspection of the aircraft on the ground in St. Louis revealed that the tailcone evacuation slide had inflated inside the tail area of the aircraft. Investigators "found the deflated slide lying in and around its cover." The NTSB report describes it this way:

The slide cover was overturned immediately aft of its normal location at the end of the walkway. The slide's inflation cylinder was empty and lying inside the slide cover. The slide cover and base, including the hinges, forward tie-down straps, deployment lanyard assembly, and floor mounting hardware were undamaged. A bracket that secured one of the walkway railings to an overhead structural support had fractured.

The investigation found that the slide cover had not been secured to the floor fittings on the walkway before the flight, although "it could not be determined why the slide's cover was not secured." Normally, the cover is secured by the mechanic who installs it and should remain secured until it is removed from the airplane.

The NTSB concluded that the pitch control restriction experienced during the flight "was caused by the inflated slide and a subsequently damaged walkway railing that impinged on a set of elevator cables in the tailcone." The set of elevator control cables ran vertically in close proximity to the railing.

More About the Slide


The tailcone of the MD-81 is attached to the aft end of the fuselage and can be jettisoned to provide an opening for an emergency exit. This exit can be accessed from inside the passenger compartment through the aft bulkhead pressure door and aft accessory compartment.

Here is the NTSB's description of how the aft slide normally works:

The tailcone can be released either from inside or outside the aircraft. A mechanism is integrated into the aft bulkhead door, that when armed will jettison the tailcone and initiate the evacuation slide deployment. The tailcone falls away from the aft fuselage, and an attached lanyard pulls open the evacuation slide cover. This in turn rotates the slide pack aft and a second lanyard triggers the inflation cylinder which inflates the slide.

The incident slide had been installed on December 10, 2007. The last visual inspection of the tailcone evacuation slide area (service check) was on June 5, 2008, with no anomalies noted. The inflation cylinder pressure was last checked on June 20, 2008, without any significant findings.

Flight crew statements to NTSB investigators indicated that "they did not hear the slide inflate in flight, nor did an airline mechanic who was seated in the rear of the airplane." The results of an internal investigation carried out by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) revealed that "no USSS personnel or USSS support personnel interfered with or altered the aircraft's hardware or systems relating to the tailcone evacuation slide" during their security sweeps of the incident aircraft.

Inertial calculations were performed using data from the incident aircraft's flight data recorder (FDR). The NTSB determined that "during takeoff rotation and initial climb there were inertial loads of sufficient magnitude and duration to allow an unsecured slide cover to rotate open and initiate slide inflation." The NTSB noted further that the incident aircraft had flown 15 flight legs since the last service check of the tailcone evacuation slide, and had experienced inertial loads of similar magnitude, but concluded that "they were of insufficient duration to result in slide inflation."

Maybe, but at the same time, the NTSB's postincident testing showed that "the slide pack could not have rotated enough to activate its inflation cylinder if the slide container had been properly secured. Further, a properly secured slide cover would have contained the slide if the inflation cylinder had improperly discharged."

So then, how was it that the slide container was not properly secured in the first place? The NTSB report offers no conclusion.

Meanwhile, though, a Maintenance Alert Bulletin issued last October added an additional step to the MD-80 Service Check "to ensure the security of the slide cover tie-down straps." Midwest Airlines also released a revision to the work card for the general visual inspection (service check), adding specific language calling for an examination of the tie-down straps to ensure their proper installation and security.

About the photos: The first photo, near the top of this page, shows the deployed tailcone evacuation slide in the tailcone of the incident MD-81 aircraft. The second photo shows an undeployed tail cone evacuation slide as installed on another aircraft. Both photos were supplied by the NTSB. [Click on the photos for a larger view.]

If you would like to read the NTSB report for this incident, here are the links: NTSB Identification: CHI08IA182 Summary; and Full Narrative.

[Photo Source]

Midwest Airlines pilots ask for federal mediation of contract talks

The pilots at Midwest Airlines have petitioned the National Mediation Board (NMB) for assistance with their labor contract negotiations. According to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents Midwest Airlines pilots, the decision to request NMB mediation came after the airline's management tried to pressure the pilots' union to agree to all concessions initially sought last summer before contract talks got underway.

Midwest pilots currently are working under a concessionary agreement reached in 2003. Their contract became amendable August 31, 2008. ALPA notes that the pilots began negotiating with management in October 2008, a month after the airline cut nearly 300 pilot jobs in a deal that outsourced much of Midwest's flying to Republic Airways.

In December of 2008, the pilots submitted what ALPA describes as "a comprehensive proposal addressing compensation, scheduling, retirement, and insurance." When face-to-face talks resumed in January, management failed to offer a counterproposal. Instead, says ALPA, "management again demanded concessions and advised the pilots that negotiations would not be productive unless they submitted a proposal providing those concessions."

Capt. Tony Freitas, incoming chairman of the Midwest Master Executive Council of ALPA, said, "While the pilots remain fully engaged in working to reach a fair, consensual agreement, Midwest management has refused to do the same. Instead, management continues to demand the same outrageous concessions that it did last July, despite several changes in the airline’s situation and operational plans."

Capt. Ken Krueger, chairman of the pilots’ Negotiating Committee, added, "We are committed to obtaining a new contract that offers some level of job security and maintains a decent quality of life for Midwest pilots. However, we have reached the point in our direct negotiations with management’s representatives where we believe that the assistance of a federal mediator is necessary to help us move this process forward."

NTSB photos and update on the incident involving Sen. Obama's plane

Yesterday, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an advisory with updated information about the incident in which a chartered plane carrying U.S. Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama diverted to St. Louis due to a mechanical problem. The MD-81 aircraft, chartered from Midwest Airlines, was carrying Sen. Obama and his party from Chicago to Charlotte, NC, when it developed a "flight control anomaly." The plane diverted to St. Louis, where it landed safely. No one was injured.

Once the aircraft was on the ground at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, it was discovered that the escape slide within the tail cone of the aircraft had deployed in flight. Along with today's update on the incident, the NTSB provided two photos, republished here. The first photo shows the deployed tail cone evacuation slide from incident airplane; the second shows an undeployed tail cone evacuation slide as installed on another aircraft, for comparison. [Click on the photos for a larger view.]

The NTSB advisory issued on July 10, 2008 provides this additional information about the Board's investigation of this incident:

Preliminary findings reveal that the slide was partially inflated and the inflation bottle was empty. Examination of the hardware did not reveal any evidence of missing components, nor any evidence of tampering.

The slide and hardware were removed from the aircraft for examination. There was no evidence of any punctures in the slide; however, there were marks consistent with rubbing of elevator control cables. Additional evidence was found to indicate that a catwalk railing was broken and impinged upon elevator control cables. The slide and hardware will be sent to the manufacturer for detailed examinations supervised by the NTSB.

The flight recorders have been removed and are en route to NTSB headquarters for download and analysis. Flight crew statements indicate that the crew did not hear the slide deploy in flight nor did a mechanic who was seated in the rear of the airplane. The flight crew confirmed that they detected elevator control stiffness during the initial level off after departure from Chicago Midway Airport. Maintenance records have been secured for further examination.

Research has been initiated into the certification of the slide, its service history, and its design interface with the airplane.

The NTSB completed the on scene phase of the investigation on July 9, 2008.

[Photo Source]

Flight attendant union protests Midwest Airlines pay cuts

Late last month I reported that Midwest Airlines not only intends to reduce its flight attendant work force by more than half, but is asking those who remain on the job to accept massive cuts in pay and benefits. These proposals have infuriated the flight attendants at Midwest Airlines, and rightly so, since they already earn 19 percent less than flight attendants at other low fare carriers.

Last evening the flight attendants publicly protested these draconian reductions in pay, but it was not just Midwest Airlines flight attendants who participated in the event. Hundreds of flight attendants from 20 carriers joined in the protest as a show of solidarity with the flight attendants of Midwest Airlines.

The flight attendants -- all members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the union that represents Midwest Airlines flight attendants -- formed up at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and held a candlelight march to the Midwest Center. There they heard remarks made by AFA-CWA International President Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA Midwest President Toni Higgins and a guest from the Milwaukee Central Labor Council.

The AFA leadership explains the situation that prompted this public protest:

In June, in order to offset rising fuel prices and a failed business plan, Midwest Airlines management hired an outside consulting firm, the Seabury Group, to present the flight attendants with a proposal that included furloughing half the work force, over 55 percent pay cuts for those remaining and additional slashes to current work rules. AFA-CWA was given the proposal without any supporting information or documentation and told that, if not accepted, management would have no choice but to file for bankruptcy. After repeated requests by AFA-CWA, management finally supplied background on the proposal, however the information provided was inaccurate and incomplete.

According to the Seabury Group's plan, the proposed Midwest flight attendant pay scale was compiled by taking the average pay rate of flight attendants from smaller carriers and reducing the average by 15 percent. However, as management continued to insist that the concessions were "fair and equitable" for all work groups, calculations for management and non-union employee concessions were based on average salaries at larger, more profitable mainline carriers such as Southwest and Delta.

AFA-CWA has notified management of its intent to negotiate, but not under the current proposed terms. In 2003, Midwest flight attendants took concessions to help the company avoid bankruptcy. Shortly after the concessionary contract was signed, management rewarded themselves with pay restoration and increases, while flight attendants and pilots continued to work under the reduced wages and work rules.

Currently, Midwest Airlines flight attendants earn between $17,000 and $39,000 annually. Should the airline management's proposed pay cuts be implemented, the flight attendants would earn only $13,000 to $25,000 per year.

Emergency diversion for Sen. Obama's chartered plane

A chartered MD-81 aircraft carrying U.S. Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, among others, diverted to St. Louis earlier today due to a mechanical problem that developed in flight. The aircraft (registration number N804ME), operated by Midwest Airlines, was en route to Charlotte, NC from Chicago when it developed a "flight control anomaly," according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The aircraft diverted to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport where it landed safely. There were no injuries to any of the 48 crew and passengers on board -- including Sen. Obama.

An NTSB Advisory about the incident says:

Post-flight inspection of the airplane revealed an in-flight deployment of the aft emergency exit slide within the tail cone.

Preliminary information indicate that the crew disconnected the autopilot during climbout from Chicago, while being vectored around thunderstorms, when they reportedly felt elevator control forces that were heavier than normal. They therefore elected to make a precautionary landing at St. Louis. After landing, it was learned that the aft emergency exit slide had deployed within the tail cone. The tail cone did not separate from the airplane.

Thank goodness the tail cone did not separate, but you have to admit, this was a very strange incident. I don't believe I've ever heard of an emergency slide spontaneously deploying inside a tail cone. If any readers know of a similar incident, please let me know.

For what it's worth, a source tells me that this particular aircraft (N804ME) is the oldest in the Midwest Airlines fleet, although this information has not been independently confirmed.

Here is an Associated Press video interview with Sen. Obama about the incident:



(If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.)

Midwest Airlines flight attendants call proposed concessions 'ludicrous'

Midwest Airlines is seeking to reduce its flight attendant work force by more than half, and also wants those remaining on the job to agree to massive cuts in pay and benefits. This week the Seabury Group, an outside consulting firm hired by Midwest Airlines, presented this potentially devastating plan to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the union representing Midwest's flight attendants. The union called the proposed concessionary package "ludicrous."

The plan proposes to cut 217 flight attendant positions, meaning over half of the Midwest Airlines flight attendants would lose their jobs. Those remaining would be asked to agree to hourly pay rate cuts ranging from 34 to 56 percent, plus other concessions that would reduce their income even further.

The union leadership calls the proposed plan "ludicrous" because Midwest Airlines flight attendants already earn 19 percent less than flight attendants at other low cost carriers. The AFA points out that the proposed Seabury plan included no supporting evidence to indicate that Midwest Airlines flight attendants' pay is too high.

In response to the proposed plan, Dory Klein, President of the Midwest Airlines unit of the AFA stated:

"This proposal is insulting, irrational, and fails to be fair and equitable. Midwest flight attendants are currently working under concessions that were negotiated five years ago in order for management to have the resources they needed to return our airline to profitability. Since that time, management has failed to create a viable business plan. It should be their responsibility to carry the burden of restructuring, not the flight attendants'.

"We have made repeated requests to review management and non-contract employee concessions, but have not received this information, which is particularly critical in light of what happened during our last round of concessions in 2003. Shortly after we took pay and work rule cuts, management gave themselves a pay increase and restored the concessions from all other non-union work groups."

The union leader said, "As we wait and see what the future holds for Midwest Airlines, we will continue to do everything we can to protect the careers of Midwest flight attendants."

Atlanta runway incursion causes aborted takeoff

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 that had just begun its takeoff roll had to abort after a controller mistakenly cleared two other aircraft to taxi across the runway into the path of the departing aircraft. The Delta flight aborted the takeoff, turned onto a taxiway and rejoined the line-up for its departure to Los Angeles.

The incident happened at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This was the second aborted takeoff due to controller error at that airport in three months.

Here is an account of what happened, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The controller cleared Delta 509 at about 12:10 p.m. to take off on Runway 26 Left, which is about 10,000 feet long. Fourteen seconds later, the same controller cleared a Midwest Airlines Boeing 717 and an ASA CRJ to taxi across the runway downfield.

The Midwest jet had moved onto the runway and the ASA plane had crossed the "hold short" line that separates the taxiway from the runway when alarms in the control tower alerted air traffic controllers of the danger. The controller cancelled Delta Flight 509's takeoff while the plane was traveling about 40 miles an hour, then slowed and turned off the runway. It got back in line for takeoff and left uneventfully a few minutes later.

The Delta and Midwest planes were about 3,500 feet apart at their nearest point.

Gary Brittain, a veteran controller at Hartsfield-Jackson, said mistakes are being made at the Atlanta tower because controllers are being short-staffed and overworked.

"This is the kind of thing that happens when you've got controllers working six-day weeks, week after week," he said. "They're beginning to crack a little."

The controller who reportedly caused the incident was decertified, subject to retraining.

[Photo Source]