FlipKart

Thursday, March 20, 2014

How Holi was it for SpiceJet?

When Finnair did something similar 2 years back for Republic Day, they not just enthralled the passengers but cruised straight into the Indian hearts. The otherwise not so creative team at FlySpiceJet copied the concept this Holi. Appreciate the enthusiasm but not the bit of the Pilot leaving cockpit and recording and cheering.
Umm not an exclusive thought from Yours Truly. Seems the DGCA has rubbed SpiceJet with wrong colors for this mid air stunt!
Watch the mid air dance and a "Photo Sensitive" SpiceJet Pilot.


The video from Finnair-

DGCA has valid points for pulling on SpiceJet and crew. The Finnair dance happened after boarding and when the aircraft was on ground. The pilot was outside the cockpit for over 2 mins and 30 seconds. When we look back into the AF447 incident, it is understood that every seconds in the cockpit counts during emergency. My summary is that the pilot behaved irresponsibly and as for the dancing cabin attendants, well they could have done it on ground to avoid a litigation later.
A well planned sequence gone bust compromising flight safety. 

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Throwing Safety to Wings- Indigo Flight 6E 031 evacuation

Indigo Flight 6E031 undercarriage catches fire which I feel is a landing which overheated the undercarriage complemented by an hydraulic leak probably which is again a reflection of poor service. What was surprising even was the slide evacuation video I saw. Passengers were carrying the hand baggage when using the evacuation slide. This is ridiculous. The undercarriage is near the most explosive area of an aircraft, i.e. the fuel tanks on the wings and center body. If they had spent time to open the cabin loft, pick their coats and hand baggage, I doubt if any one would have survived if the tanks blew up.

The instructions on the safety booklet is clear. The fundamental idea is a smooth exit hence anything that interferes with the sliding exit shouldn't be carried e.g. bags, loose clothing, heels etc.
An article in Time by Amanda Ripley compiled some tips on how to avoid injury and escape from a plane on an inflatable slide. Their suggestions involved planning, exiting the aircraft and getting off the slide quickly, jumping, the correct body position and avoidance of clothing that could cause safety issues, such as spiked heels and pantyhoses.
Even if one doesn't take time to read the safety manual in the aircraft, this link is vital for your own safety-

Time Article by Amanda Ripley-Click here

And time for Indigo to answer a few questions on the
  1. Why the undercarriage caught fire and 
  2. Why were the passenger let to go down the slide with their bags, coats etc?
My piece for Indigo airlines-Being 6E is not enough. Be a safe airline!